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On Thursday, Union Pacific Railroad will launch a $29 million project aimed at improving a 23-mile line in the Houston area.

The project calls for removing and installing rail, installing 29 track switches and more than 62,000 concrete ties, spreading 99,000 tons of ballast and renewing roadway surfaces at 14 grade crossings. Crews will use the TRT 909, a maintenance-of-way machine designed to install rail and concrete ties in one pass, and place up to 5,000 ties during a 12-hour period.

This year, UP plans to spend about $2.5 billion on capital programs and infrastructure upgrades.