Ohio Rail Development Commission has approved grants for three rail projects in Butler, Highland and Summit Counties, Ohio, after projects were given the green light by the ORDC.

Rail spur at Middletown
A two-track rail spur and switch connection to the CSX Transportation main line will enable a new coiled steel coating operation to start at the NCI Group manufacturing facility at Middletown. This new rail infrastructure represents part of a total $12.7-million dollar investment at a brownfield site. The steel coating operation will create 74 new jobs at an average pay of $17.68 an hour with benefits and generate between 500 and 1,000 carloads of freight annually.

ORDC approved a grant of $75,000, which leverages further funding from NCI Group, CSXT, the Ohio Department of Development and local sources through a job creation grant and tax abatements.

Bridge rehabilitation enables plant re-opening at Greenfield
A series of bridges on the city of Greenfield-owned rail line will provide key transportation links toward the re-opening of the Johnson Controls plant at Greenfield and the immediate restoration of 130 jobs, with another 80 jobs to be added with a planned second shift later this year.

ORDC Commissioners had approved a $235,000 grant in January of this year, which leveraged $58,000 in funding from the City of Greenfield. Today's action by the Commission adds another $35,000 toward the project for additional bridge tie replacement and ditch-cleaning along several miles of the railroad right-of-way.

Rail-truck transload facility at Macedonia
An ORDC loan of up to $350,000 to the Jamen Corporation will leverage funding from Jamen, the Mean J Trucking Company and the Norfolk Southern Railroad to build a rail spur and re-install a switch connection to the NS main line at Macedonia for a new cement rail-to-truck transloading facility. The project will create 4 new jobs at the facility and create an additional 10 trucking jobs.