Virginia transportation board OKs rail funding

Virginia's Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) last month approved fiscal-year 2020 budgets for the Virginia Department of Transportation and Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT), and blessed a six-year improvement program that allocates a record $22.9 billion to rail, highway and public transportation programs.

The budgets and six-year program — which take effect today — will advance the commonwealth's commitment to improving and maintaining infrastructure, and building a multimodal platform for the state’s economy, said Virginia Secretary of Transportation Shannon Valentine in a press release. The program includes $803 million for rail initiatives and $3.8 billion for public transportation.

DRPT's $730.5 million annual budget for FY2020 includes $590.7 million for public transportation, $84.8 million for passenger and freight rail, $10.1 million for rail preservation and $700,000 for rail industrial access programs.

Additionally, the CTB approved a $450,000 rail industrial access grant to InterChange Cold Storage LLC to support the company's new 250,000-square-foot facility in Rockbridge County. The grant will fund more than 40 percent of the cost to construct a 2,810-foot rail spur.

With rail service provided by Shenandoah Valley Railroad LLC, InterChange will move 35 percent of its product by rail annually, removing 354 trucks from Virginia highways each year, DRPT Director Jennifer Mitchell said.