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Yesterday, the state of Pennsylvania issued grants totaling more than $3.5 million to five short lines to help offset the cost of repairing infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Ivan-caused floods. The state also granted about $6.9 million for eight freight-rail projects.

The flood damage grants include:
• $2.1 million to Pittsburgh & Ohio Central Railroad Inc. to repair 43 track miles;
• $687,689 to Allegheny Valley Railroad Co. to restore rail service on six track miles and reconnect mainline access along 27 track miles;
• $392,000 to Delaware & Hudson Railway Co. Inc. to repair 128 miles of mainline;
• $266,770 to the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co. to repair 30 track miles; and
• $100,000 to the Lackawanna County Rail Authority to repair a retaining wall.

Among the freight-rail projects, the state granted:
• $2.7 million to the Lehigh Valley Industrial Park to help fund the construction of an intermodal facility;
• $1.2 million to Air Products to clear obstructions on a Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad Co. (RBMN) mainline to accommodate oversized rail cars;
• $1 million to RJ Corman Railroad Co. to rehabilitate track;
• $757,980 to RBMN to complete engineering studies for a new bridge over the Lehigh River and rehabilitate track; and
• $553,787 to the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad Co. to rehabilitate a mainline.