No official word from the U.S. Department of Transportation has been released regarding awards of the fourth round of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, but news from various congressional offices is revealing what projects will benefit from the latest round of grants. The initial tally indicates rail related projects did not fare as well as they had in past TIGER funding cycles, but several key projects will see federal money.
BNSF plans to invest an estimated $140 million in capital programs in both Colorado and Wyoming this year.
Boatright Companies is building a crosstie plant in Chilton County, Ala., a $55 million investment with plans to have 100 workers by the end of next year. The new 400,000-square-foot facility on 100 acres in the Chilton County Industrial Park will put the Boatright plant on a CSX rail line and give the company the ability to more than double its current railroad tie production capacity.
The Surface Transportation Board made public its approach for the continuation of the Tongue River Railroad Company, Inc.’s (TRRC) revised proposal to build and operate a new rail line in Montana. This approach takes into account a number of recent changed circumstances and will allow the board to complete its review of TRRC’s current plans for a new railroad line.
Skanska has been awarded a $66 million contract from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to design and construct a test track, commissioning facility, parking garage and other facilities near the existing Greenbelt Maintenance Yard in Prince George’s County, Md. The contract will be included in the order bookings for Skanska USA Civil for the second quarter 2012.
Calling for action on the most critical safety issues facing Canada’s transportation system, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada released its new Watchlist.
“In 2010, the TSB’s first Watchlist became a blueprint for progress,” said Wendy Tadros, chair of the TSB. “Transport Canada and industry acted together and today, significant progress has been made on many of these important safety issues.””
In announcing its new Watchlist, Tadros added, “”We’ve removed issues where the risk has been reduced and left issues on the list where little or no progress has been made. The new Watchlist also features several emerging challenges, challenges that will need to be tackled to make Canada’s transportation system safer.”
The board reported progress in six key areas: emergency preparedness on ferries; voyage data recorders on vessels; the operation of longer, heavier trains; crashworthy data recorders on trains; advances in rail safety management systems; and planned improvements for cockpit voice recorders.
The Federal Railroad Administration proposed an addition of seven new Categorical Exclusions (CE) to its environmental procedures that will help expedite project delivery across the country. The proposed CEs, which were developed in coordination with the White House Council on Environmental Quality, are part of the Obama Administration’s on-going efforts to streamline government and allow job creators to break ground on shovel-ready projects months or even years faster without doing damage to the environment.
The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay Port Commission has selected David Koch as its new chief executive officer. Koch has been serving as the port’s interim CEO since December 2011 and the port’s chief operating officer starting in October 2010.
Union Pacific built a fleet of mobile classrooms to bring state-of-the-art operations and safety training to locomotive engineer and conductor locations across its 23-state system.
Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen ratified a new a six-year collective bargaining agreement with Canadian National’s Grand Trunk Western property.
Automated crosstie evaluation systems work toward removing subjectivity and improving accuracy of crosstie inspections.
Controlling grinding speed allows for the amount of metal removal to be fine-tuned and results in improved effectiveness and utilization of grinding operations.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved construction authorization for the installation of flashing lights and gates at five grade crossings in Crawford, Cuyahoga, Logan and Seneca counties.
Parsons Brinckerhoff named Greg Kelly to the newly created position of global chief operating officer. Clifford Eby succeeds Kelly as president of Parsons Brinckerhoff’s Americas Transportation operating company.
To all my faithful readers, this will be the last monthly installment of “Chicago Perspective.” I thank you for giving me a platform for 13 years where my thoughts, opinions, theories and assessments of the industry have been allowed to flourish.
Chicago, where I live and where RT&S is put together each month, represents various things to various people. To my grandfather, who worked with the American Angus Association, memories of the old Union Stockyards come to mind.
The Illinois Department of Transportation and Union Pacific are beginning the final phase of 2012 upgrades to Illinois’ signature high-speed route, Chicago-St. Louis, for future high-speed Amtrak trains.
The Washington State Department of Transportation is accepting applications to receive state funding for freight rail projects in Washington that create family-wage jobs and demonstrate the economic and environmental advantages of freight rail.
California Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors voted Thursday, June 7, 2012, to authorize VTA’s general manager to execute a $45,040,277 contract with RGW Construction, Inc., for the Mission/Warren/Freight Railroad Relocation (MWT) Program improvements.
David Raisbeck resigned from the Canadian Pacific Board of Directors, a position he has held since October 2009.
