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Hours after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast Aug. 29, Balfour Beatty Rail Inc. began coordinating its workforce and equipment to provide railroads infrastructure cleanup services. On Monday, the railroad contractor issued a summary of its post-storm projects in the region.

After the hurricane hit, Balfour Beatty dispatched three four-person teams to affected areas to provide emergency vegetation-management services. In Baton Rouge, La., a nine-person team spent four days clearing trees and debris from Kansas City Southern’s tracks.

Balfour Beatty workers also helped Canadian National Railway Co. rebuild a 6-mile section of track that had been moved 75 feet by the storm surge. In addition, an eight-person crew helped DuPont rebuild one track mile in De Lisle, Miss., used to reassemble rail cars. Now, the shipper is considering whether to hire the contractor to rebuild another 3.5 track miles.

For long-time customer CSX Transportation, Balfour Beatty crews worked around the clock to help the Class I clear debris from a 120-mile line between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala.

“We are thankful that we could get these folks back up and running in a relatively short time,” said Vinnie Vaccarello, vice president of the company’s ballast and vegetation management division, in a prepared statement. “This is about helping our friends in time of despair.”