Governor plans $42 million for New York rail, port improvements

Written by jrood

February 14, 2001 New York Governor David A. Paterson announced approval of more than $42 million in funding for 34 rail and port capital improvement projects in New York State. Grants from the Renew and Rebuild New York Transportation Bond Act of 2005 and the Governor's Passenger and Freight Rail Assistance Program will fund these infrastructure investments and security improvements, bringing with them economic development and job creation and retention opportunities across the State.

"Investing
in transportation infrastructure improvement projects is essential not only to
supporting a stable statewide economy, but also to helping grow that economy by
allowing freight to be shipped and delivered more safely and efficiently,"
Governor Paterson said. "New York’s economic vitality depends on having a
modern, effective transportation system, and this funding will help strengthen
that system today, and contribute to the overall reliability of our
transportation infrastructure in the future."

The
$42.1-million investment by New York State leverages an additional $9 million
of funding mostly from the grantees and private industry, as well as other
federal and State resources. The funding provided for passenger and freight
rail improvement supports track rehabilitation, rail capacity expansion,
railroad bridge repair and locomotive emissions reductions. Port improvements
include wharf rehabilitation and upgraded highway access.

The
$2.9-billion Rebuild and Renew New York Transportation Bond Act of 2005
provides $135 million for railroad and port facility improvements and supplied
$27.4 million of funding for this round of projects. More than $80 million in
Bond Act funding has already been apportioned to rail and port projects across
New York, with another $27 million remaining.

The
Governor’s Passenger and Freight Rail Assistance Program provides $100 million
in funding for track improvements, grade crossing eliminations or upgrades, and
construction or modernization of intermodal facilities. This year’s funding
includes $14.7 million, with approximately $15 million remaining for future
projects.

Renew
and Rebuild New York Transportation Bond Act grants for port and rail
infrastructure improvement projects include:


$4.2 million to the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) for an
$8.9-million project for passenger rail station improvements, including
demolition of a portion of the station and platform and reconstruction of the
rail bed, track, platform, elevator and passenger and baggage areas. The
station is located in the City of Schenectady, Schenectady County;


$3.15 million to the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad Inc. for a $3.5-million
project to install new ties on a 50-mile segment of railroad between Buffalo,
Erie County, and Machias, Cattaraugus County;


$2 million to the New York Susquehanna & Western Railway Co. for a $2.2-million
project to improve track along the Syracuse Mainline in Onondaga and Cortland
counties and extend connector track and construct a yard at the Binghamton
freight rail station in Broome County;


$1.9 million to the Finger Lakes Railway Corporation for a $2.1-million project
to rehabilitate approximately 46 miles of track in Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca
counties;


$1.8 million to the Long Island Rail Road for a $2-million project to expand
capacity at the Maspeth Yard in Queens;


$1.8 million to the Niagara County Department of Economic Development for a
$1.9-million project to build 2,800 feet of new track, relocate an existing
grade crossing and rehabilitate an additional 1,500 feet of track to provide
rail access to Globe Metallurgical Inc. in Niagara County;


$1.55 million to the New York City Economic Development Corporation for a $1.7-million
project to replace an existing locomotive with a new, reduced emission model in
order to improve air quality at the New York Container Terminal in Staten
Island;


$1.35 million to the Rochester & Southern Railroad, Inc. for a $1.5-million
project to rehabilitate seven miles of track in Monroe County;


$1.3 million to the Ontario Midland Railroad Corporation for a $1.4-million
project to replace ties and rebuild three grade crossings in Wayne County;


$1.2 million to the Owego & Harford Railway, Inc. for a $1.3-million
project in Tioga County to construct a run-around track at Owego yard and
infrastructure improvements to allow the track to accommodate heavier rail
cars;


$1 million to the Massena Terminal Railroad for a $1.25-million project in St.
Lawrence County to resurface eight rail crossings and rehabilitate three miles
of track in order to accommodate heavier rail cars;


$828,000 to the Depew, Lancaster & Western Railroad Company, Inc. for a
$920,000 project to replace ties, upgrade switches and replace the Swan Street
rail crossing surface in Batavia, Genesee County;


$805,408 to the Southern Tier Extension Railroad Authority for an $894,898
project to repair and rehabilitate rail bridges on the Western New York and Pennsylvania
Railroad in Allegany and Cattaraugus counties;


$737,550 to the Albany Port Railroad for an $819,500 project for track and
grade crossing rehabilitation in Albany County;


$405,000 to the Falls Road Railroad Company for a $450,000 project to improve
drainage and install new ties at five rail crossings in Orleans County;


$318,600 to the Business Development Council of Greater Massena for a $354,000
project to construct a new rail siding to serve three lots in the Massena
Industrial Development Park in St. Lawrence County; and


$129,600 to the Livonia, Avon & Lakeville Railroad Corporation for a
$144,000 project to rehabilitate the bridge carrying the tracks over Honeoye
Creek in Golah, Monroe County.

 

Passenger
and Freight Rail Assistance Program grants for port and rail infrastructure
improvement projects include:


$3.9 million to the Genesee County Economic Development Corporation for a $4.9-million
project to extend short-line rail service to the new Genesee Valley
Agri-Business Park in Genesee County;


$2.7 million to the New York & Ogdensburg Railway Company for a project to
replace ties and rail, rehabilitate two bridges in Norwood and Madrid, St.
Lawrence County, and improve two grade crossings in St. Lawrence county;


$2.25 million to the Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad, Inc. for a $2.5-million
project to rehabilitate the Buffalo Creek yard in Erie County;


$1.8 million for a Clarendon & Pittsford Railroad Company project to
install more than three miles of new rail in Washington County;


$860,000 to the Falls Road Railroad Company for a project to replace ties along
their entire 45-mile rail route in Niagara, Orleans and Monroe counties;


$770,000 to the Batten Kill Railroad Company, Inc. for a project to repair a
bridge in Greenwich, Washington County;


$500,237 to the Finger Lakes Railway Corporation for a $555,819 project to
replace rail and improve drainage in Ontario County;


$525,000 to the Mohawk Adirondack & Northern Railroad Corporation for a
project to rehabilitate a culvert carrying the railroad over the Cincinnati
Creek in Trenton, Oneida County;


$375,000 to the Depew Lancaster & Western Railroad Company for a project to
upgrade the bridge over the Tonawanda Creek in Genesee County in order to
accommodate heavier rail cars;


$270,000 to the Long Island Rail Road for a $300,000 project to improve track
infrastructure and bridge clearance at Yaphank Avenue in Brookhaven, Suffolk
County;


$201,307 to the Wellsboro & Corning Railroad Company for a $223,675 track
improvement project in Steuben County;


$200,000 to the Adirondack Railway Preservation Society for an Adirondack
Scenic Railroad project to rehabilitate the Remsen-Lake Placid historic travel
corridor from Big Moose to Stillwater Reservoir in Herkimer County;


$188,000 to the Buffalo Southern Railroad, Inc. for a project to rehabilitate
two bridges in Erie County;


$72,000 to Oneida County for an $80,000 project to install automatic electronic
surveillance to public areas in and around Union Station in Utica, Oneida
County; and


$38,000 to the Leatherstocking Railway Historical Society for a project to
rehabilitate the Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley Railroad Milford Yard,
Otsego County, including installation of drainage and new ties.

The
projects to be funded were selected based on a number of criteria, including
project readiness; environmental impacts; and a project’s ability to improve or
support safety, security, economic development and sustainability.

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