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The North Carolina Railroad Co. (NCRR) is completing or starting work to improve three rail bridges in eastern North Carolina. The projects are being funded through a partnership with Norfolk Southern Railway.

A project in Kinston, which is nearing completion, calls for rebuilding two wooden trestles over the Neuse River. NCRR and NS will fund the $8 million project through a 50/50 cost share agreement.

NCRR also plans to soon begin repairing a bridge over the Trent River in New Bern. The work involves encasing steel piles — which were corroded by saltwater for more than 30 years — in concrete. NCRR and NS each will provide $1.5 million for the project.

“Preserving and improving infrastructure like rail bridges and trestles helps maintain or increase train speed and weight capacities,” said NCRR President Scott Saylor in a prepared statement.

NCRR owns and manages a 317-mile corridor between Morehead City and Charlotte that’s used by 50 to 60 freight trains and 10 passenger trains daily.

For more insight on how NCRR plans to bolster its infrastructure this year, purchase Progressive Railroading’s Maintenance of Way Spending Report 2011. The pdf-format report, which costs $249, also provides details on the MOW programs planned by 87 other railroads, including Class Is, regionals, short lines, holding companies and passenger railroads. Follow this link to order a copy of Maintenance of Way Spending Report 2011.