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Norfolk Southern Corp. and the states of Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia recently entered an agreement with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to govern the release of $95 million in federal funding for the Heartland Corridor, a high-speed double-stack container route to be created between Columbus, Ohio, and a Hampton Roads, Va., port.

FHWA’s Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division will serve as leader for the $186 million project, which calls for building intermodal terminals near Roanoke, Va., and Prichard, W.Va.; reconstructing and re-boring rail tunnels; raising tunnel clearances; and removing overhead obstructions in the three states. The corridor has been designated a project of national and regional significance under SAFETEA-LU.

Funded through a public-private partnership, the Heartland Corridor will expand capacity, improve service consistency and reduce intermodal traffic transit time by one day between the mid-Atlantic and Midwest, according to project planners. The corridor will be 300 miles shorter than an existing intermodal route between Columbus and Norfolk, Va.

With all funding agreements in place — including pacts with the three states — planners expect to complete engineering and environmental studies, and begin construction by year’s end. The project is scheduled to be completed by late 2009.

“The expanded rail capacity and improved transit times between Hampton Roads and the Midwest will stimulate economic growth throughout the region and enhance the nation’s ability to compete for international trade,” said NS Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Wick Moorman in a prepared statement.