Construction on $40-million Mechanicville, N.Y., rail yard could begin soon
Written by jrood
Two years after officials gathered in Mechanicsville, N.Y., to announce a $40-million "rail logistics center," work on the project has yet to begin, the Albany Times-Union reports. But that could soon change.
The Army Corps of Engineers
is close to a decision on a permit that, when issued, will clear the way for
the start of construction on the yard, which will cover more than 200 acres in
Mechanicville, Halfmoon and Stillwater. Concerns about wetlands and water
quality were the latest hurdles that the intermodal yard project, a joint
venture of Norfolk Southern and Pan Am railways, needed to clear.
The permit involves the
discharge of fill into wetlands and streams on the site, according to John
Connell of the Army Corps of Engineers.
Under the proposal,
"they’re creating wetlands at a parcel in Stillwater," he said.
"In addition to relocating some of the streams, the railroads also would
undertake stream restoration at two sites, in Malta and Stillwater.
"A decision is expected
soon," Connell said of the permit review.
Local officials have
already given their blessing to the project.
"We’ve basically
approved everything," said Steve Watts, chairman of the Halfmoon planning
board. He said he was hopeful that construction could begin this summer. And
Halfmoon Town Supervisor Mindy Wormuth said the new facility would be good for
the town’s economy.
Rudy Husband, a spokesman
for Norfolk Southern, said that while the company is still awaiting
construction permits, some site preparation work could begin later this month.
Pan Am Southern LLC, as the
joint venture is called, would construct the $40-million yard on the 207-acre
site of a former Boston & Maine rail classification yard. The facility
would include space for intermodal trailers, an automotive facility and a so-called
filet/toupee operation, where freight cars are double-stacked (toupeed), or
reduced to single stack (fileted).
Freight trains would be
double-stacked west of Mechanicville, and single-stacked east of the town so
that they could clear the Hoosac Tunnel in western Massachusetts.
The yard also would include
five single-story buildings.
The project originally was
promised $3 million in state funding, but in the wake of the budget crisis that
money didn’t come through.
As many as 85 people will
work at the new rail yard when it’s fully operational.
