Minnesota DOT awards grant money to seven rail projects

The Minnesota DOT released funding to seven rail projects in the state.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) unveiled seven rail projects that will receive just over $4 million in grant money.

Mn/DOT received 21 Minnesota Rail Service Improvement (MRSI) program applications worth $21.4 million for rail service improvement projects.

“The number of applicants for the 2021 MRSI grants shows there’s a great need to maintain or improve rail freight service in local markets throughout the state,” said Peter Dahlberg, Office of Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations program manager. “These local rail connections give local farmers, manufacturers, and other local businesses the opportunity to compete in global and national markets.”

The following is a breakdown of the seven projects that received grant money:

• Farmers Grain terminal (Thief River Falls)—$820,000 to build a rail spur that will enable efficient loading of unit grain trains;
• Carleton Capital rail access (Fergus Falls)—$480,000 to construct a rail spur as part of a new freight loading facility on the Otter Tail Valley Railroad in Fergus Falls;
• Central Region Cooperative (Fairfax)—$500,000 to construct a new rail spur to service a fertilizer plant on the Minnesota Prairie Line. The plant currently ships product primarily by truck;
• Port Terminal Drive North rail crossing modernization (Duluth Seaway Port Authority)—$647,000 to reconstruct, upgrade and modernize approximately 700 ft of curved rail crossing and a switch located at the heart of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority’s Clure Public Marine Terminal;
• Farmers Co-operative Elevator Company grain elevator siding (Echo)—$250,000 to construct rail-loading facilities on the Minnesota Prairie Line. The existing elevator currently ships product primarily by truck;
• Minnesota Commercial Railway bridge repair (Minneapolis)—$210,000 to replace the timber deck on the Minnesota Commercial Railway bridge spanning 31st Avenue South in Minneapolis; and
• Voyageur Capital Group (Grand Rapids Industrial Park)—$1.15 million to rehabilitate 5,475 ft of railroad track and re-establish rail service to the industrial park.

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