Construction of the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit project in Minnesota is 50 percent complete and on track to be 75 percent done by year’s end.
“The contractors really hit the ground running in March. We now have work occurring in all areas of the nearly 10-mile long project, employing more than 3,000 workers to date,” Metropolitan Council Chair Sue Haigh said.
The Denver Regional Transportation District, the Colorado Department of Transportation and SEMA Construction broke ground on RTD’s I-225 Light Rail Line extension. This kicks off construction on the first segment of the light-rail project from Nine Mile to Iliff.
The Board of Directors of Metrolinx in Toronto, Canada, voted unanimously to proceed with the implementation of the Toronto Transit Plan as originally approved by Metrolinx on May 19, 2010, consisting of the following projects:
RailComm has provided remote control for a New England Central Railroad bridge. RailComm’s Domain Operations Controller System is used to dispatch the railroad and has been modified to include control of the bridge.
Osmose Holdings, Inc., manufacturer of wood preservation chemistry and technology, has closed an agreement to be acquired by certain investment funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. of Los Angeles, Calif.
BNSF plans to invest an estimated $202 million on maintenance and rail capacity improvement and expansion projects in Nebraska this year.
The Chicago City Council passed an ordinance to create the Chicago Infrastructure Trust, a way to leverage private investment for transformative infrastructure projects and guide the city’s renewal of these elements in the 21st century.
“Chicago will be a city that shapes its own destiny,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “Nowhere is this more important than with our critical infrastructure needs. The Chicago Infrastructure Trust will allow us to consider transformative infrastructure projects and build a world-class infrastructure for our city.”
Mayor Emanuel announced the Trust on March 1, in an event in which he was joined by former President Bill Clinton.
The trust will provide advantaged financing, enabling each project to customize a financing structure using taxable or tax-exempt debt, equity investments and other forms of support. Each project will be coordinated with the city and its sister agencies’ long-term plan for transformational infrastructure investments.
The Chicago Infrastructure Trust was created with the private sector, non-profit organizations and union leaders. An amended ordinance was submitted this week, which calls for one Alderman to be on the trust’s board and clarifies that the trust will be completely subject to FOIA, Open Meetings laws and the city’s ethics ordinance.
The trust will require City Council approval for all projects and will operate as a non-profit organization as it seeks projects.
The trust passed by a vote of 41-7.
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation will begin on the first section of the elevated guideway for the rail transit system. With all the necessary state and federal approvals needed to move forward in hand, HART gave contractor Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. the green light to begin drilling for the concrete foundation shafts and support columns. The work started on April 23 in East Kapolei near Farrington Highway in the first section of the 20-mile route.
This weekend, crews will begin work associated with the Loop Track Renewal project in Chicago and replace deteriorated rail and track components along the Wells and Van Buren elevated structure.
The Board of Directors of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees all transportation in the city, including the Municipal Railway, approved the agency’s two-year budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 and FY 2014. The fiscal year is July 1 to June 30.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation will hold a citizens’ informational workshop regarding the proposed railway safety improvement project affecting railroad crossings on and between Carmon Road and Frieden Church Road in Guilford County. The workshop will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 24.
For the past several months, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has been working to complete both planned and emergency construction projects on the Norristown High Speed Line.
The Illinois Department of Transportation is committing $2.2 million to complete the engineering and design plans for replacing the BNSF viaduct over Illinois Route 29 in Chillicothe, Ill.
The project will replace the two existing viaducts with a single structure carrying three mainline tracks, a yard track, a service road and a pedestrian walkway.
The editors of Railway Track & Structures are pleased to bring you “Rail Brief,” a weekly e-mail newsletter that brings breaking news about rail engineering and maintenance-of-way to your inbox. Whether it occurs on or off the track, RT&S “Rail Brief” will cover advancing projects, developing technologies and other updates on rail infrastructure.
Congress approved a three-month extension of current transportation programs and the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012 was signed by President Obama on March 30, extending the authority to make expenditures from the Highway Trust Fund for HTF-financed programs through June 30, 2012.
A groundbreaking in Osage, Mo., has taken place for a new railroad bridge that will eliminate one of the worst rail bottlenecks in the country. The $28 million project received $22.6 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Program.
The Illinois Department of Transportation and Union Pacific will be upgrading Illinois’ high-speed route, Chicago-St. Louis, for future high-speed Amtrak trains, from April 16 through May 25. The improvements for 110-mph service include the installation of new premium rail with concrete crossties and ballast; upgrades to bridges, culverts and drainage; signal and wayside equipment installations and upgrades and roadway-rail grade crossing improvements.
Amtrak is reaching a milestone in its efforts to replace the existing 104-year old Niantic River Bridge in East Lyme, Conn., with the float-in of the new bascule lift span to the new alignment south of the existing bridge.
The Virginia Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved an amended Senate budget, which will provide $300 million dollars in additional state funds to Phase 2 of the Metrorail to Dulles Project in northern Virginia.