Rocla kicks off construction of tie manufacturing plant in Florida

As part of a long-term supply agreement with All Aboard Florida and Florida East Coast Railway (FECR), Rocla Concrete Tie Inc. began constructing a new concrete-tie manufacturing plant in Ft. Pierce, Fla.

Located along an FECR mainline, the facility will supply ties to the regional, as well as All Aboard Florida and other transit agencies throughout the southeast region, Rocla officials said in a press release.

The location was chosen because it is midway between Orlando and Miami, making it an "ideal" site to manufacture and deliver ties to all of Florida's rail projects, they said.

"The immediate need for concrete ties by the All Aboard Florida passenger-rail project helped justify this investment, which will allow us to be an ongoing supplier to any other capital projects of All Aboard Florida and FECR, as well as use the FECR network to reach other customers in the future," said Rocla Vice President of Business Development Brett Urquhart, who was named one of Progressive Railroading's "Rising Stars" in 2015.

Concrete tie production at the plant is expected to begin in early 2016.