As
the state has not yet negotiated a deal to purchase the tracks, the federal
Surface Transportation Board will hold a public hearing in Presque Isle on July
7 to allow interested parties to comment on Montreal, Maine & Atlantic
Railway’s application to abandon the 233 miles of tracks that run through Aroostook
and Penobscot counties, the Bangor Daily News reports.
Charlie Brown stood
behind the bar at the dark, dusty Whistling Post Tavern on June 30, rag in
hand, updating his patrons on the latest local news, local newspapers report.
Canadian Pacific marks a
significant milestone this year as it celebrates the 125th Anniversary of the
driving of the Last Spike, which signaled the completion of Canada’s first
transcontinental railroad. In celebration of this anniversary, CP presented the
first of its archives Legacy gifts to the Banff Whyte Museum.
BART and Caltrans will need
to close a portion of eastbound Interstate 580 in the Dublin/Pleasanton area
beginning 11 p.m. on Saturday, July 10, through 9 a.m. Sunday, July 11. Off-ramps
from eastbound I-580 to northbound and southbound Interstate 680 will also be
closed. These closures are necessary to accommodate construction crews as they
install bridges perpendicular to the highway, which will provide access to the
new West Dublin/Pleasanton Station.
Ingleside Civic League
president Phillip Hawkins points to a rut with his shoe along the light rail
tracks that run in front of his home. He’s less than thrilled his neighborhood
is about to be inconvenienced again, Norfolk, Va.’s WAVY reports. Starting July
6, crews will rip out the light rail crossing at Ingleside and Mississippi and
replace it. The same will happen at the Bristol and Curlew Dr crossing.
WAVY
learned the concrete panels settled causing the tracks to move.
Work on an important part
of a new east-west highway corridor across south Renton, Wash., that will help
ease congestion could begin in spring 2012, the Seattle Post Intelligencer
reports. Key players in the project, including Renton, Tukwila, Boeing, BNSF
and Sound Transit, recently held a high-level meeting on the project, known as
the Southwest 27th/Strander Boulevard Connection.
Wednesday, July 7 to
Friday, July 9, crews will begin site preparation for a project that will
improve rail crossings at Mary and Sunnyvale avenues in Sunnyvale, Calif. The
work is part of VTA project to improve safety at eight crossings in Sunnyvale,
Mountain View and Palo Alto.
Union Pacific will improve
Missouri’s transportation infrastructure by investing more than $10 million on
the rail line that runs from near Washington, Mo., to Pacific, Mo. Work on the
nearly 22-mile stretch of railroad track began July 1 and is scheduled to be
completed by the end of July. The project includes removing and
installing the rail on one of the two tracks in the area.
Two years after officials
gathered in Mechanicsville, N.Y., to announce a $40-million "rail
logistics center," work on the project has yet to begin, the Albany
Times-Union reports. But that could soon change.
New Mexico Transportation
Secretary Gary L. J. Girón was joined by state and local officials as they
broke ground on the Reinken Avenue project in Belen. The $2.4-million project
is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and will include
building a pedestrian overpass at the Belen Rail Runner Station. It is expected
to be complete by this November.
At the opening of the new
dog park in Fremont, Calif., Central Park, a cacophony of howls and yips from
assorted canines mixed with excited chatter and laughter from dog owners. When
the ribbon was finally cut by Fremont Mayor Bob Wasserman and BART Board
Director Tom Blalock, dogs thronged the oasis-like park, which stood in stark
contrast to the booming construction nearby.
SERTC is now
enrolling emergency responders for hazardous material training through a
federally funded program that provides broad access to intensive training at
our world-class training facility located at the Transportation Technology
Center, Pueblo, Colo. Registration
for training is available on at www.sertc.org.
Transportation projects
in North Carolina have $173 million over the next four years that doesn’t have
to be allocated based on the state equity fund formula, the Sun Journal
reports.
Mesquite, Texas, is
pursuing a "quiet zone" along the Union Pacific railway
corridor that cuts through the middle of town, the Dallas Morning News reports.
In a quiet zone, if railroad crossings meet certain federal standards, trains
no longer sound their horns unless the engineer sees a danger on the tracks.
Union Pacific has published
its 2009 Sustainability and Citizenship Report, highlighting the company’s
commitment to protecting the environment, enhancing its position as an employer
of choice, being a valuable member of the more than 7,000 communities in which
it operates and diligently working on behalf of shareholders, employees and
customers to be among the best-governed companies in America.
Federal Signal
Environmental Solutions Group has appointed Sam Miceli as vice president and
general manager for its Guzzler Manufacturing and Vactor Manufacturing subsidiaries, effective immediately. In this role, Miceli
is primarily responsible for overseeing and cultivating the business strategies
and growth initiatives for both companies. He will report directly to Mark
Weber, president of Federal Signal Environmental Solutions Group.
RailAmerica has reached
an agreement to acquire Atlas Railroad Construction Company and related assets
for $21.5 million in cash plus closing adjustments for working capital, which
are estimated to be approximately $2.5 million. The transaction is expected to
close July 1, 2010. Founded in 1954, Atlas is a railroad engineering,
construction, maintenance and repair company operating primarily in the U.S.
Midwest and Northeast. Atlas provides railroad construction services principally
to public-transit agencies, industrial customers, and short line and regional
railroads.
Every weekday morning,
Peter Myung of Wheaton takes a Metra train to work, the Chicago Tribune reports.
But even when he arrives at the downtown Wheaton station on time, he’s at risk
of missing his train. That’s because the Metra platform is on the north side of
the adjacent Union Pacific tracks; the commuter parking lot where Myung parks
his car is on the south side. When a passing freight train blocks the nearby
West Street crossing, Myung and other commuters must wait for it to pass. But
starting next year, Myung will be able to take a shortcut across the tracks and
won’t risk missing his train.
The Worcester, Mass., City
Council has overwhelmingly approved in concept CSX Transportation’s plan to expand
its freight yard between Shrewsbury and Franklin streets and make the city its
new rail freight hub for New England, the Telegram & Gazette reports. But
the project is anything but finalized; in fact, final city action on it may not
take place for at least another couple of months.
Starting early July 2010,
construction crews will start earthquake-strengthening work inside BART’s West
Oakland Station. Crews will construct scaffolding and enclosures around work
areas and at times will need to temporarily change pedestrian access inside the
station. This means it may take customers longer to make their way through the
station and around the work areas.
