The Pennsylvania State Transportation Commission (STC), building on the Act 89 transportation plan, has updated Pennsylvania’s 12-Year Transportation Program with a $22-billion boost in much needed transportation improvements.
Union Pacific will strengthen Iowa’s transportation infrastructure by investing $6 million in the rail line between Burt and Goldfield, Iowa. The project, funded entirely by Union Pacific, began July 25 and is scheduled to be completed by mid-October.
Larry Etherton, PE, retired director engineering, Norfolk Southern and former president of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA), has assumed the role of interim executive director and chief executive officer of AREMA.
Kansas City Southern named Erik Hansen vice president intermodal and Daniel Bozung assistant vice president mechanical operations.
Union Pacific will strengthen transportation infrastructure in Wyoming and Nebraska by investing $9.6 million in the rail line between near Scottsbluff, Neb., and Shawnee, Wyo. The project, funded entirely by Union Pacific, began July 13 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of September.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s (SCVTA) Warren Avenue grade separation project is now complete and will be open to traffic beginning August 11. This is just one of many projects that will make way for the SCVTA Bay Area Rapid Transportation (BART) Silicon Valley Berryessa Extension.
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) reached an agreement with Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) to perform design work for a portion of the route for the new passenger rail service between Chicago and Moline. Next month, IDOT is planning to begin making improvements to accommodate service on the BNSF portion of the route.
Union Pacific will strengthen Colorado’s and Wyoming’s transportation infrastructures by investing $11 million in the rail line between LaSalle, Colo., and near Cheyenne, Wyo. The project, funded entirely by Union Pacific, began July 9 and is scheduled to be completed by mid-December.
The derailment of a CSX coal train on a railroad bridge in Ellicott City, Md., on August 20, 2012, was caused by a broken rail with evidence of rolling contact fatigue (RCF), according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Virginia Railway Express (VRE) began construction on a new station in Potomac Shores; the station is expected to open in 2017.
Passengers along the Raleigh to Charlotte rail corridor in North Carolina will experience some of the benefits of the Piedmont Improvement Program (PIP) following project milestones met last week.
Union Pacific employees achieved a 1.01 reportable safety incident rate for the first half of the year (through June 30, 2014), matching the best-ever rate achieved in the first half of 2011.
Canadian Pacific and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Rail Canada Traffic Controllers (TCRC-RCTC) have reached a tentative six-year labor agreement covering approximately 135 rail traffic controllers in Canada.
Kansas City Southern (KCS) made several organizational changes within the operations department.
Union Pacific will strengthen Kansas’ transportation infrastructure by investing $8 million in the rail line between Herington and Whitewater. The project, funded entirely by Union Pacific, began July 16 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of September.
SNC-Lavalin Group appointed Marc Rivard to the role of executive vice president infrastructure engineering, within the company’s Infrastructure Group. SNC-Lavalin’s Infrastructure Group addresses the full life cycle of infrastructure and includes its infrastructure concession investment, engineering, construction and operations and maintenance businesses.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) approved four highway-rail grade crossing projects in Marion, Holmes, Shelby and Huron counties.
AECOM Technology Corporation and URS Corporation have executed a definitive agreement under which AECOM will acquire URS.
More than $25.5 million in state capital investments has been awarded for a major grade separation project in Aurora, Ill. The project will improve traffic flow and safety at the U.S. Route 34 and Canadian National crossing and create 370 jobs.
“Soon motorists on Ogden Avenue won’t have to wait for passing trains at this heavily traveled crossing,” Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said. “This grade separation project will make it easier and safer to travel in Aurora and create jobs for our hardworking residents to help drive Illinois’ economy forward.”
A bridge carrying U.S. Route 34 (Ogden Avenue) will be built over the Canadian National tracks. The project will include retaining walls, new pavement, noise abatement and traffic signals. Herlihy Mid-Continent Company of Romeoville was the lowest of seven bidders for the job with a quote of $25,523,407. Construction will begin this summer and will be managed by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
The average daily traffic volume along U.S. Route 34 at the CN crossing is 31,200 vehicles per day with an average of 42 trains per day. Based on an Environmental Impact Statement, this crossing experiences a total vehicle delay of nearly 73 hours per day. The project will eliminate those delays and reduce the potential for train, vehicle and bicycle accidents by eliminating the at-grade crossing. The work will also enhance emergency vehicle response times in Aurora and the surrounding communities.
The Aurora project is part of Governor Quinn’s $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! program, which will support more than 439,000 jobs over six years.
Wisconsin has moved closer to purchasing a 70-mile segment of rail line between Madison to Reedsburg and Madison to Cottage Grove, says Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.