The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) released its proposed 2015-2019 Capital Program, which details its plan to ensure safe and reliable service for a growing region by investing in the subway, bus, commuter railroad, bridge and tunnel network.
The Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding $4.3 million to upgrade critical infrastructure and fund rail projects in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Iowa. The grants are intended to support communities affected by recent natural disasters, as well as communities looking to support and attract businesses.
“The Obama Administration and the Commerce Department are committed to helping communities affected by natural disasters rebuild so they can rebound economically,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. “The EDA investments announced today support a diverse group of projects – from infrastructure improvements and transportation upgrades to workforce training and disaster recovery efforts – that will enable communities across Arkansas to be more economically resilient in the wake of future natural disasters and other challenges.”
The investments include $1.2 million to the city of Pine Bluff, Ark., which will help upgrade roughly 40 miles of rail line to increase economic resiliency and diversity by providing alternate transportation in times of natural disasters to area businesses and manufacturers. Also, the proposed continued upgrading of the rail line is a vital component of broader efforts to restore and improve critical rail infrastructure that will service Southeast Arkansas and Northeast Louisiana. According to the grantee, the project will enhance the area’s ability to attract new industry and to grow existing industry by improving local logistic infrastructure and will create 24 jobs in the area.
A $1.2 million grant in Corning, Ark., will support rail improvements to an industrial site, enabling Peco Foods, Inc., to build poultry processing and hatchery facilities and associated infrastructure on a 120-acre site in Clay County. According to the grantee, the company has committed to a $165 million investment and the creation of 942 jobs. The feed mill operation will produce 15,000 tons of self-use feed per week to support the breeder and grower flocks grown for the Pocahontas plant and those ingredients will be sourced primarily from local farmers.
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Shawnee, Okla., received $1,232,023 in Public Works funds to fund the construction of rail infrastructure improvements at the Iron Horse Industrial Park in Pottawatomie County. This project is part of Phase II of development of the park and will provide rail service to the tenants, which include both native and non-native businesses and provide greater access to both domestic and international markets. This investment is part of a $1,232,023 project that the grantee estimates will create 15 jobs and leverage $350,000 in private investment.
The City of Sioux City, Iowa, received $631,102 in Economic Adjustment funds to fund continued implementation of infrastructure and site work necessary for construction of a new, flood-protected rail system to serve and support industries locating or relocating operations into the new Southbridge Business Park, which is located outside the city’s flood-prone area. This project supports the city’s efforts to implement flood protection and disaster resiliency measures in the region severely impacted and still recovering from the 2011 flooding of the Missouri River.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) is considering federal funding for phase two of its Purple Line Extension in the form of a $1.1 billion grant from the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts program and a $307 million low-interest loan from the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program. The LACMTA Board would have to give approval before the transit agency could apply for the funds.
The Federal Transit Authority (FTA) awarded 40 projects a total of $3.59 billion in federal disaster relief funds to help public transportation systems in the areas affected by Hurricane Sandy to become more resilient, in order to withstand the impact of future natural disasters.
The Illinois high-speed rail project connecting Chicago to St. Louis reached a significant milestone in construction September 22, 2014, when the last segment of track and crossties were replaced.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (LACMTA) long-planned $1.2 billion overhaul of the Blue Line will focus on the downtown Long Beach loop of the light-rail system, with a 30-day shutdown that began September 20, 2014.
Rocla Concrete Tie, Inc., supplier of pre-stressed concrete ties has made a number of management changes that the company says will provide customer-centric support and operational oversight to its new facilities and subsidiaries.
Union Pacific Railroad will perform $18 million of work on a rail line between Paola and Parsons, KS. The UP-funded project began September 16 and is scheduled to be completed by mid-December.
A combined $1.5 billion in Sandy resiliency grants to repair and fortify New Jersey’s transit system has been awarded to New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) Board of Commissioners approved a major redevelopment of Greenville Yard that will include a new ExpressRail facility, the fourth of its type to be built by the agency, that will support the adjacent Global Marine Terminal. This will allow the terminal to ship and receive containerized cargo by rail.
Union Pacific will strengthen Nebraska’s transportation infrastructure by investing $11 million in the rail line between Grand Island and Gibbon, Neb. The UP-funded project began September 12 and is scheduled to be completed by mid-December.
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) is expressing concerns over the Surface Transportation Board (STB) Reauthorization Bill (S.2777), scheduled to be marked up in the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday, September 17, 2014.
The Washington State Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently completed the environmental study of the Kelso Martin’s Bluff Rail Project in Washington state, which would provide more frequent and reliable service for Amtrak Cascades passengers between Seattle and Portland.
United States Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx joined local, state and federal government officials, private donors and the Detroit community at a track signing ceremony where he formally announced $12.2-million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant funding for the M-1 Rail project. All of the streetcar project donors were recognized, including the two newest: Ford Motor Company and DTE Energy.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit (NYCT) marked the restoration of normal R subway service September 15 between Brooklyn and Manhattan with the successful completion of the Montague Tube subway tunnel that was damaged during Superstorm Standy.
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $53.7 million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants that will help rail projects in six states and District of Columbia.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded $2.5 million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery funds to complete the master plan for expansion of the marine terminal in Seward, Alaska.
The Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) and the city of Seward submitted the application for the planning grant funds concurrently with an application for capital project grant funding. These grants are necessary to fund improvements to Seward’s West Dock, which primarily services passenger ships and is nearing the end of its useful life.
While the program makes competitive grants based on a variety of factors, U.S. Sen. Mark Begich (D-AL) said a recent visit by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx certainly helped.
“I brought Secretary Foxx to Alaska in August so that he could get a better understanding of our state’s special transportation challenges. I’m glad to see the visit generated some real results,” said Sen. Begich. “These grant funds will be used to develop plans for the Seward dock expansion, a project that will provide family-wage jobs and increase transportation and economic growth in Seward and throughout the state.”
Sen. Begich organized a meeting between representatives of ARRC, Secretary Foxx and other transportation leaders during his visit to Alaska. During the meeting, railroad representatives pressed Secretary Foxx on the urgency of funding the Seward Marine Terminal Expansion project. In order to complete the project, ARRC must complete several studies including a passenger study, freight traffic study and transportation connectivity study. These elements will be the foundation of a new Seward Marine Terminal Expansion Master Plan, which will allow ARRC to prioritize infrastructure improvements at the terminal in order to better serve regional, state and national partners and customers.
Alon USA Energy, Inc., has received approval from the Kern County Board of Supervisors to construct a new rail facility at the Bakersfield, California, refinery and to make modifications to the refinery that will allow it to process light crude.
Several rail-related projects across eight states will benefit from close to $90 million million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants.
The M-1 Rail streetcar project in Detroit, Mich., has set up an assembly line near Cass Avenue to weld steel rail into about forty 560-foot-long strings of continuously welded rail (CWR).