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By year’s end, the North Carolina Railroad Co. (NCRR) plans to begin a series of capital improvements on its corridor between Durham and Morehead City to enhance safety and speed, and create additional capacity.
 
NCRR and Norfolk Southern Railway will share the $4.6 million cost to upgrade two bridges and three culverts. The projects include improvements to a bridge over the Little River in Goldsboro, a new bridge over the Newport River in Newport, and upgrades to culverts in Durham, Kinston and Cove City. The Goldsboro bridge project involves replacing the approach to the span and the Newport bridge project calls for replacing the entire 200-foot structure, which was built in 1905.
 
NCRR also plans to add a two-mile-long passing siding near the Lenoir-Wayne County line. Currently, there are no long passing sidings along the 114-mile stretch of rail corridor between Selma and Morehead City, NCRR officials said in a prepared statement, adding that the railroad will cover the $4 million cost and NS will maintain the track.
 
The bridge/culvert and siding projects are slated for completion in 2013.
 
In addition, NCRR has entered into a preliminary engineering feasibility study on a potential second main track along its corridor between Cabarrus Street and the Tryon Road Extension in South Raleigh. The railroad wants to determine how existing bridges between downtown Raleigh and the Interstate 440 Beltline can accommodate a second track.

“The added capacity would help grow freight business and allow for the future possibility of adding commuter rail in the Triangle,” NCRR officials said.