North Carolina legislators introduce bill to restore rail line

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor

A bill submitted by a group of North Carolina state legislators would restore a rail line from Wallace to Castle Hayne, N.C., and study additional improvements to military transportation.

The bill’s primary sponsors are state Reps. Susi Hamilton (D-New Hanover), Rick Catlin (R-New Hanover), Phil Shepard (R-Onslow) and Rodney Moore (D-Mecklenburg).

The proposal asks the North Carolina Department of Transportation to “investigate any and all options for a source of” $65.2 million in funding to improve access to the North Carolina State Port at Wilmington. The funding would include $50 million to revitalize and restore the rail connection between Wallace and Castle Hayne and another $15.2 million for capital improvements along the same line.

Additionally, the bill asks the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee to study additional transportation infrastructure improvements that may be made to improve military transportation throughout the state.

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