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The Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) recently approved a plan to provide $836,355 in state funds for the Heartland Corridor high-speed double-stack container line between Columbus, Ohio, and the Port of Norfolk, Va. The funds will help corridor planners — which include Norfolk Southern Corp. and several government bodies — eliminate low clearances along the line’s Ohio route.

Project organizers plan to improve four bridges in Ashville, Lunbeck and Glen Jean, Ohio, and lower a portion of track underneath an Ironton, Ohio, bridge. The Ohio route will connect with the Rickenbacker Intermodal Hub, which is under construction south of Columbus. The $186 million project also calls for building intermodal terminals near Roanoke, Va., and Prichard, W.Va., reconstructing and re-boring rail tunnels, and removing overhead obstructions.

The project is designed to reduce the double-stack container route between Columbus and Norfolk by 300 miles and foster two-way double-stack service between Chicago, Columbus and Norfolk. Construction is expected to begin by year end and conclude in 2009.

Congress has appropriated $90 million for the corridor. Earlier this month, the state of Virginia agreed to provide $22.3 million to help fund a $38.4 million project in the state calling for the construction of four tunnels and the Roanoke-area terminal. The federal government and NS will cover the remaining $5 million and $11.1 million, respectively.