Wright County, Iowa,
Economic Development Director Dennis Bowman and Hamilton County Supervisor Doug
Bailey talked to the Wright County Board of Supervisors about a proposed 280-acre
business park in Hamilton County with access to the Canadian National Railway,
the Belmond Independent reports.
A Clinton County, Ohio,
railroad crossing has been called "a dire safety hazard" and a "very dangerous
intersection" by current and former railroad safety advocates, as well as by
one Ohio foundation that works to make the nation’s railways safer, the News
Journal reports.
The BART website
(www.bart.gov) went live with new trip planning functions, including bicycle
directions and station area points of interest that use the Google Maps API. In
addition to walking and driving directions, visitors now can get bicycling
directions between BART and any address using the BART QuickPlanner. They can
also get more information about points of interest near BART stations,
including directions, using the Neighborhood Map tab on any station page.
The North Dakota Public
Service Commission is working to arrange a meeting with BNSF, the City of
Bismarck and Fraine Barracks after residents close to the barracks crossing
complained the work to make the crossing private is taking too long, the Bismarck
Tribune reports.
The train whistles are
still blowing and some residents are frustrated that construction and legal
work are taking so long after the commission signed its order May 19. The order
doesn’t make Fraine Barracks a private crossing by default, but it does make
the crossing private once certain conditions have been met.
BNSF is working with the
city to hash out a contract that will detail what maintenance the city is
responsible for and what liabilities it will have once the crossing is private.
The city is unable to start construction until the agreement is signed. City
officials would not say Wednesday how long they’ve been working on the contract
or when they received it. City Attorney Charles Whitman would not say what
liabilities the city would be forced to take on through the contract. But in an
e-mail to PSC staff, City Administrator Bill Wocken said it "indemnifies the
railroad from almost all real or imagined events."
The commissioners set a
tentative meeting with the three parties for Aug. 24.
Commission Chairman Kevin
Cramer questioned whether BNSF was unhappy with the agreement and "stonewalling
the process."
BNSF’s attorney during
the hearing, Stephen Plambeck, said, "No I don’t think that what’s going on at
all." Rather, he said, the agreement was simply still being worked out.
BNSF did not appeal the
commission’s order, but Commissioner Tony Clark questioned, "how formally that
opportunity was presented to them." Cramer said the company is sufficiently
legally represented to be informed of the process.
Regardless of what is
causing the hold-up, nearby residents want the whistles to stop.
"They’re (BNSF) just
dragging their feet on this and a lot of people in western Bismarck are upset,"
said Highland Acres resident Jim Christianson. "The agreement was signed over
two months ago, and the needed improvements could be completed in less than a
week."
Wocken said the contract
has taken longer to work out than the city desired.
"To say we have not
achieved any real progress at this point would be very close to correct, as the
whistles keep blowing," Wocken said in his email to PSC staff. "We have not
lost our resolve to continue to work of this process, but it is very slow going."
In 1935, Cyrus Holland
founded Holland Co, now Holland LP, to supply railroad car snubbers to the
industry. Today, Holland is celebrating 75 years in the railroad supply
business.
Construction of an
enormous railroad overpass in Colton, Calif., remains on a scheduled late 2011
start, as officials finalize details of a design agreement, The
Press-Enterprise reports. Members of San Bernardino Associated Governments are
poised to agree to the contract for design of the Colton Crossing at the
agency’s monthly meeting.
This month, SEPTA will
undertake a grade crossing renewal project along the Media/Elwyn Regional Rail
Line temporarily closing local roadways to traffic in Delaware County. On
Thursday, August 5, through Tuesday, August 10, Amosland Road will be closed
between Franklin and Highland Avenues near the Morton Regional Rail train
station. Trains at Moylan-Rose Valley, Wallingford, Swarthmore, and Morton-Rutledge
Stations will change boarding location during this time.
Lisa Stabler, former AVP,
Quality & Reliability Engineering at BNSF, joined TTCI’s senior management
team as VP of Operations and Training. Stabler will provide officer level
oversight to TTCI’s Operations and Facilities program, the Safety, Health, and
Environmental program and to the Security and Emergency Response Training
Center.
Beginning August 1, 2010
and ending October 1, BART will be installing new energy-efficient lighting
fixtures and intelligent lighting system components in the North Berkeley
Station. The improvements will greatly enhance station lighting levels. The
work will be performed outside of commute hours, whenever possible, to minimize
inconvenience. One unused AC Transit bus stop will be used for the contractor’s
trailer. No buses will be re-routed or relocated during construction.
Amtrak has added special
stops in Michigan City, Ind., on three Wolverine Service trains during selected
Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, through November 8. This is in response to the
construction-related shut down of South Shore Line commuter rail service east
of Gary, Ind., on those dates.
Rudy Boutot, a leathery
veteran of the logging trade, is the only one of 11 siblings who chose to
remain in jobs-challenged Aroostook County, Maine, the Boston Globe reports.
But in all his 66 years, Boutot said, he has never seen the economy this bad.
Jacobs Engineering Group
Inc. received a contract from Network Rail to progress the development of a
major rail infrastructure project at Stockley Flyover in west London. Officials
did not disclose the contract value.
Efren Alcala has been named
a supervising engineer in the New York City office of Parsons Brinckerhoff. In
his new position, Alcala will initially be responsible for the design of
plumbing and fire protection systems for the East Side Access project, which is
extending The Long Island Rail Road into Grand Central Terminal.
The Village of Leipsic,
Ohio, was awarded a $3.5-million grant to assist in developing its 244-acre
industrial site served by three railroads, the Putnam County Sentinel reports.
At
a Leipsic Council meeting, Leipsic Mayor Kevin Benton and village administrator
Kevin Lammon informed council members that the village has been selected to
receive this grant.
As Fresno’s population
grows, so does its traffic congestion, especially in bustling areas such as
downtown, the Fresno Business Journal reports. For many, it is apparent that a
streetcar system, reminiscent of the one Fresno residents used up until the
late 1930s, will be the key to curbing the flow of traffic in the future while
bringing visitors and economic stimulation to the city’s core.
Joliet’s new CenterPoint
Intermodal opened the week of August 2, a milestone for a project that will
make Will County, Ill., a major port for consumer goods coming in and out of
the Midwest, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Beneath a 115-year-old
SEPTA bridge, Pennsylvania Gov. Rendell on August 3 renewed his call for more
money to fix roads and bridges, kicking off a four-day statewide tour to try to
prod the General Assembly to action, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Rendell also sent a letter
to legislators day, asking them to reconvene in Harrisburg on Aug. 23 to come
up with at least $472 million more for transportation.
The best and safest way for
fast-speed rail service to roll into downtown Raleigh is to hop onto tracks
being used by Norfolk Southern, both a citizen advisory task force and city
staff told Raleigh’s City Council, the News Observer reports.
Following a productive
meeting late the week of July 26, Amtrak and the Lancaster County Planning
Commission (LCPC) said that issues surrounding the renovation of the Lancaster
Station have been resolved and the project is moving forward as planned. As a
result of the meeting, it was determined that no additional funds beyond Amtrak’s
estimate of $1.7 million provided to the LCPC in 2008 will be needed for Amtrak’s
construction support.
A Website for the 75th
Street Corridor Improvement Project (CIP) in the Chicago area has been launched that provides study
information and links to environmental documents, newsletters, project schedule
and upcoming public events.
