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.
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.
The railroad spawned a
string of towns north of Raleigh, N.C., in the 19th century, and now it
threatens to cut them in half, the News Observer reports. Many residents worry
that Youngsville, Franklinton, Henderson and Norlina will see little benefit
from a plan to run passenger trains between Raleigh and Richmond, Va., at
speeds up to 110 mph. The $2.3-billion project is part of a planned high-speed
rail corridor that would cut nearly two hours from train trips between North
Carolina and the Northeast.
A 20-year transportation
proposal to renovate more than 500 miles of passenger rail throughout New
England is anticipated to increase speed between stations while unclogging some
of the region’s congested highways, the Brattleboro, Vt., Reformer reports. The
ambitious project, running through Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, is
designed to improve connection times and spark economic growth throughout the
Northeast.
The rehabilitation of the
Chester Branch Railroad, a four-mile
rail line extending from Wharton, N.J., and ending in Roxbury, N.J., is under
way and should be completed within four to five months, county officials said,
according to the Daily Record. The county Board of Freeholders in April awarded
a $5.1-million contract to the firm Railroad Construction Co. Inc., of Paterson
to rehabilitate the rail line, with the money coming from the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act, part of the economic stimulus package.
Citing extensive safety
improvements, state regulators cleared the way for completion of the first leg
of the Expo light rail project by approving a controversial street-level
crossing next to Dorsey High School, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Clean-up work on the
upper reach of the Whitefish River will have a completely different look this
year, as BNSF continues to remove sediments contaminated by diesel spilled at
the railroad’s locomotive refueling station, the Whitefish Pilot
reports.
Transportation officials
in Norfolk, Va., are working to make sure people are safe when the Light Rail
starts running, local media report. Preventing a crash between a Light Rail
train and a vehicle is what the city of Norfolk and HRT wants to work to
prevent before the trains roll across the tracks.
Sen. Dick Durbin said July
23 that giving the Union Pacific Railroad $98.3 million in federal money for
track improvements without an agreement in place to allow high-speed passenger
rail is still a good idea, The Springfield, Ill., State Journal-Register
reports.
U.S. Transportation Secretary
Ray LaHood said that the Denver Union Station project will receive just over
$300 million in federal loans through an unprecedented and historic innovative
financing arrangement using the Department of Transportation’s Railroad Rehabilitation
and Improvement Financing (RRIF) Program and the Transportation Infrastructure
Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Program. The project is funded with a unique
financing structure and for the first time combines credit assistance from both
programs.
More than a century ago,
gangs of burly men would lay railroad ties at a snail’s pace, driving them in
with sledgehammers, the Lansing, Mich., State Journal reports. Today, the work
proceeds more quickly with large hydraulic machines, but still not fast enough
to avoid causing headaches for motorists facing traffic backups and detours.
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn
announced more than $500 million for critical mass transit infrastructure
improvements throughout Illinois. The funding, provided through the Illinois
Jobs Now! capital construction program, will create and retain an estimated
18,000 jobs and improve traveler safety.
In February, U.S.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced $100 million in American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act funds for projects to help reduce rail bottlenecks in the
Chicago region. On July 22, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the
Illinois Department of Transportation finalized a grant agreement for the
CREATE (Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency) program to
begin work on those projects.
Secretary LaHood said freight congestion
mitigation projects include new traffic control systems, track and bridge work,
a highway-rail grade separation and safety improvements on various rail viaducts.
RailWorks Track Systems,
Inc., appointed Robert Rolf vice president and general manager of the South
Track division with responsibility for all operations of RailWorks Track
Systems – Texas, Inc. He succeeds Jack Wilt, who is retiring as vice president
and general manager of this division.
CSX Transportation’s plan
to expand its freight yard between Shrewsbury and Franklin streets in Worcester,
Mass., gained more momentum after the Planning Board last night endorsed a zone
change and to street layouts essential to the expansion project modifications, the
Telegram & Gazette reports. By a 4-0 vote, the board recommended changing
the zoning of roughly three acres along the CSXT railroad tracks to
manufacturing-general.
Officials estimate
construction of the long-awaited Colton Crossing project in Southern California
will be complete sometime in 2014, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Amtrak is offering its
expert guidance on station development to communities in Illinois, Iowa and
Wisconsin where new state-supported Amtrak service is planned to begin in the
next three years. As a part of its Great American Stations Project, Amtrak is hosting
local and state leaders in a Civic Conversation with a special focus on the
development of stations on planned Chicago routes to Dubuque, Iowa, via
Rockford, Ill.; to Iowa City via the Illinois-Iowa Quad Cities; and to Madison,
Wis., via Milwaukee.
You get history by the
earful when you ride around Raleigh with railroaders. And a little prehistory,
too, the News & Observer reports.
A major program to rebuild
nearly two-dozen century-old railroad bridges on Metra’s Union Pacific North
line is expected to start next month and will mean schedule changes for
thousands of commuters, the Chicago Tribune reports. Although the bridges are
on Chicago’s North Side, the entire line will be affected because the project
will force northbound and southbound trains onto a single track at work sites,
officials said.
Metro Blue Line
passengers in Los Angeles will experience travel delays of up to 40 minutes this coming
weekend beginning Friday night, July 16, due to construction of the Expo light
rail line, which will connect with the Metro Blue Line in downtown Los Angeles.
Special Metro Bus service will parallel the train route during the construction
work.
