On November 2, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn was joined by local and state officials to open the new 71st Street railroad underpass in Bridgeview, a Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) project that will greatly reduce traffic delays and improve safety at the former automobile/rail intersection.
From June to September, Kansas City Southern‘s U.S. production gangs installed more than 150,000 crossties, 2,450 switch ties and renewed 94 road crossings between Spiro, Okla., and De Queen, Ark., on the Heavener and Shreveport Subdivisions.
Chicago Transportation Authority‘s (CTA) Red Line South project is now complete and the line running from Cermak-Chinatown and 95th Street will reopen on schedule Sunday, October 20.
North County Transit District (NCTD) in San Diego, Calif., began a $2 million crosstie replacement project on the coastal rail corridor used for passenger rail service October 7. The project is expected to be completed by November 24.
The California Transportation Commission (CTC) allocated $359 million to 36 projects. The CTC says the funds represent an investment that will create jobs bolstering the state’s economy, reduce traffic congestion, repair highways and bridges and improve rail service.
The Illinois Department of Transportation and Union Pacific are performing the last of three phases of 2013 upgrades to Illinois’ signature high-speed route, Chicago-St. Louis, for future 110 mph operation of Amtrak Lincoln Service trains.
The last of three Michigan track improvement phases for the 2013 construction season begins between Jackson and Kalamazoo on October 14. While the project will cause some delays and modified schedules, the result will be upgraded tracks and more reliable service as part of the Accelerated Rail Program being carried out by Amtrak for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).
BNSF plans to invest an estimated $100 million on maintenance and rail capacity expansion projects in California this year.
Construction of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Central Subway‘s stations, tracks and operating systems has begun, extending the Muni Metro T Third Line underground.
BNSF plans to invest an estimated $90 million on track and rail capacity improvement projects in New Mexico this year.
Union Pacific will strengthen Illinois’ and Iowa’s transportation infrastructures by investing nearly $11 million in the rail line between La Fox, Ill., and Clinton, Iowa.
The second of three Michigan track improvement phases for the 2013 construction season begins between Jackson and Battle Creek on September 30 as part of the Accelerated Rail Program being carried out by Amtrak for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).
A failure in a Con Edison feeder cable resulted in a lack of electricity to power overhead wires along MTA Metro-North Railroad’s New Haven Line on Sept. 25. The railroad was forced to run limited service using diesel locomotives until further notice between Stamford, Conn. and Grand Central Station in New York City.
Twelve grants totaling more than $12 million have been awarded through the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s (NJDOT) Fiscal Year 2013 Rail Freight Assistance Program, which helps support economic activity by preserving and improving the existing freight transportation system and by making freight rail service more widely available for businesses throughout the state.
Union Pacific will strengthen Iowa’s transportation infrastructure by investing $8 million in the rail line between Lowden and near Blairstown.
Work is progressing on the Loyalsock Creek rail bridge in Lycoming County, Pa., as the Susquehanna Economic Development Association Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) Joint Rail Authority continues to target a summer 2014 completion.
BNSF plans to invest an estimated $145 million on maintenance and rail capacity expansion projects in Illinois this year.