advertisement

---

The North Carolina Board of Transportation recently awarded more than $1.9 million to nine short lines to help fund track and bridge improvements costing more than $4.6 million.
 
The monies are distributed through the state’s Short Line Infrastructure Assistance Program (SIAP) as part of a public-private partnership that requires the short lines to provide at least 50 percent of project costs. Twenty-one short lines currently operate in North Carolina on about 930 miles of track.
 
The short-line projects were ranked by the state based on public and project benefits. SIAP funds are appropriated by the North Carolina General Assembly on a year-by-year basis.

The current SIAP grants include:
• $553,458 to the Aberdeen, Carolina & Western Railway for a $1 million project;
• $474,050 to Carolina Coastal Railway for a $948,100 project;
• $399,912 to the Chesapeake & Albemarle Railroad for a $799,824 project;
• $282,000 to the Aberdeen & Rockfish Railroad for a $624,271 project;
• $135,563 to the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad for a $271,127 project;
• $45,000 to Caldwell County Railroad for a $90,000 project;
• $40,000 to Alexander Railroad for a $551,804 project;
• $30,000 to Wilmington Terminal Railroad for a $175,000 project; and
• $24,345 to the Atlantic & Western Railway for a $157,380 project.