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Union Pacific Railroad has appointed D. Lynn Kelley vice president of continuous improvement, effective July 1, to succeed Richard McClish, who plans to retire.

Kelley will be responsible for continuous improvement, industrial engineering and quality processes. She most recently was vice president of operational excellence for Textron Inc., where she oversaw engineering, operations, procurement, quality and continuous improvement councils. Kelley previously was VP of quality and Textron Six Sigma, and was a member of Textron's executive leadership team and a corporate officer.

McClish joined UP in 2004 after serving R.R. Donnelly & Sons as chief process officer and interim chief information officer. His career also included senior management positions at General Electric Plastics.

“Dick developed a platform and process that spurred continuous improvement across our entire rail network,” said UP Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Young in a prepared statement. “His focus on process improvement and lean management were critical contributions to Union Pacific’s success.”

UP also announced plans to spend $23.1 million to improve track from Weiser to Mountain Home in western Idaho, and from Pocatello to Idaho Falls in the eastern part of the state. The project calls for removing and installing new rail and more than 206,000 ties, and spreading 106,000 tons of ballast along 180 miles of track.

The project is included in UP’s $3.3 billion capital spending budget for 2011. In May, the Class I increased this year’s capex budget by $100 million.