Wisconsin co-op receives state loan to build spur tracks

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
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Wisconsin awarded a $2.6-million loan to Country Visions Cooperative, which is building a new dry fertilizer plant in Plymouth with rail access.

 

The loan is made possible by the state’s Freight Railroad Infrastructure Improvement program (FRIIP). The $11-million plant requires the construction of nearly 3,000 feet of spur track and a railcar unloading system.

Country Visions Co-op is in the process of converting its dry fertilizer operations in several eastern Wisconsin locations to take advantage of the cost savings of shipping by rail. Dry fertilizers will be available to farms on a more timely basis for spring planting.

Wisconsin & Southern Railroad will serve this facility along the Plymouth to Sheboygan Falls railroad track, which was recently reconstructed with assistance from a Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) Freight Rail Preservation Program (FRPP) grant.

FRIIP, a revolving loan program used to improve rail infrastructure and construct new rail-served facilities, and FRPP, a grant program that covers up to 80 percent of project costs to help preserve freight rail service or rehabilitate track on publicly-owned rail lines, are WisDOT’s two freight railroad assistance programs designed to increase the use of rail transportation and support economic development.

Since 1994, WisDOT has provided more than $128 million in FRIIP loans and $225 million in FRPP grants to help fund 167 infrastructure acquisition, rehabilitation and improvement projects statewide.

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