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Rail News: Short Lines & Regionals
9/20/2012
Rail News: Short Lines & Regionals
Wisconsin DOT allocates $12 million for freight-rail projects
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Yesterday, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker announced the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) will award eight loans and grants totaling about $12 million for various freight-rail infrastructure projects.
WisDOT will administer six loans totaling $6.1 million through the Freight Railroad Infrastructure Improvement Program (FRIIP) and two grants totaling about $5.9 million through the Freight Railroad Preservation Program (FRPP).
A revolving loan program, FRIIP provides funds to railroads, private industries and local governments to improve rail infrastructure and grade crossings, and construct new rail-served facilities. FRPP grants cover up to 80 percent of the cost of projects designed to preserve rail service or rehabilitate fixed facilities on publicly owned rail lines. Twelve freight railroads operate in Wisconsin on more than 3,500 miles of track.
"Wisconsin's freight-rail system plays a major role in our state's economy, moving raw materials to industry and finished products to markets," said Walker in a prepared statement.
WisDOT will provide a $1.8 million FRPP grant and $230,000 FRIIP loan to the Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad Co. to replace six aging bridges along a mainline from Green Bay to the Michigan state line. Replacing the bridges lessens the risk of a major derailment as a result of a bridge failing, WisDOT officials said.
In addition, the department will provide a $4 million FRPP grant and $500,000 FRIIP loan to the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co. (WSOR) to replace three bridges and rehabilitate another. The projects have been identified by engineering studies as emergency repairs that are vital to keep state-owned rail corridors operational, WisDOT officials said. WSOR has identified more than $33 million worth of bridge work that needs to be completed over the next several years.
Through the FRIIP program, WisDOT also will provide the following loans:
• $1.8 million to Sharratt Warehousing and Distribution L.L.C. to construct a rail siding and loading facility as part of a planned temperature-controlled warehouse in Reedsburg. The line adjacent to the proposed facility is owned by Union Pacific Railroad and operated by WSOR under a long-term lease.
• $1.5 million to Zenda Grain L.L.C. to construct a grain drying and storage facility at its existing grain elevator site. The facility is located on a line served by WSOR on right of way owned by the state and the Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission;
• $1.5 million to Landmark Services Cooperative to construct a new 730,000-bushel-capacity grain storage bin at its facility near Evansville that's served by UP; and
• $610,000 to Millard Feed Inc., doing business as Agroliance, to build a rail siding and load-out facility along with a 1 million-gallon-capacity liquid fertilizer storage tank. The company's facility is served by WSOR on a line owned by the state and the Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission.
WisDOT will administer six loans totaling $6.1 million through the Freight Railroad Infrastructure Improvement Program (FRIIP) and two grants totaling about $5.9 million through the Freight Railroad Preservation Program (FRPP).
A revolving loan program, FRIIP provides funds to railroads, private industries and local governments to improve rail infrastructure and grade crossings, and construct new rail-served facilities. FRPP grants cover up to 80 percent of the cost of projects designed to preserve rail service or rehabilitate fixed facilities on publicly owned rail lines. Twelve freight railroads operate in Wisconsin on more than 3,500 miles of track.
"Wisconsin's freight-rail system plays a major role in our state's economy, moving raw materials to industry and finished products to markets," said Walker in a prepared statement.
WisDOT will provide a $1.8 million FRPP grant and $230,000 FRIIP loan to the Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad Co. to replace six aging bridges along a mainline from Green Bay to the Michigan state line. Replacing the bridges lessens the risk of a major derailment as a result of a bridge failing, WisDOT officials said.
In addition, the department will provide a $4 million FRPP grant and $500,000 FRIIP loan to the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co. (WSOR) to replace three bridges and rehabilitate another. The projects have been identified by engineering studies as emergency repairs that are vital to keep state-owned rail corridors operational, WisDOT officials said. WSOR has identified more than $33 million worth of bridge work that needs to be completed over the next several years.
Through the FRIIP program, WisDOT also will provide the following loans:
• $1.8 million to Sharratt Warehousing and Distribution L.L.C. to construct a rail siding and loading facility as part of a planned temperature-controlled warehouse in Reedsburg. The line adjacent to the proposed facility is owned by Union Pacific Railroad and operated by WSOR under a long-term lease.
• $1.5 million to Zenda Grain L.L.C. to construct a grain drying and storage facility at its existing grain elevator site. The facility is located on a line served by WSOR on right of way owned by the state and the Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission;
• $1.5 million to Landmark Services Cooperative to construct a new 730,000-bushel-capacity grain storage bin at its facility near Evansville that's served by UP; and
• $610,000 to Millard Feed Inc., doing business as Agroliance, to build a rail siding and load-out facility along with a 1 million-gallon-capacity liquid fertilizer storage tank. The company's facility is served by WSOR on a line owned by the state and the Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission.
