Federal Railroad
Administrator Joseph Szabo announced a Final Rule requiring railroad track
owners to adopt and follow specific procedures to protect the safety of their
bridges, and to strengthen federal oversight of railroad bridge maintenance
programs. This rule is a requirement under the Rail Safety Improvement Act of
2008.
BNSF, Union Pacific and the Texas Department of Transportation are working together to secure National Infrastructure Investments Discretionary Grant, TIGER II, funding to make Tower 55 improvements in Fort Worth, Texas. Tower 55 is one of the nation’s busiest railroad intersections and a TxDOT organized selection committee has rated the project as the highest priority proposed TIGER II project in Texas.
Both BNSF and Union Pacific rely heavily on Tower 55 to move freight throughout the Southwest. More than 100 trains a day must stop and make turns through the intersection, increasing emissions and traffic congestion for both freight trains and commuters.
Summary of improvements
• Additional trackage north, south and through Tower 55 on BNSF and UP
• Improved quadrant connections to promote train movements
• New and structurally improved bridges and grade-crossing closures
• Enhanced signals that would be compatible with positive train control (PTC)
• Two new grade-separated pedestrian crossings adjacent to an elementary school
• Two at-grade road crossing closures in a residential area
"The Tower 55 rail intersection plays a major economical role in North Texas. It is clear how important Tower 55 is to the vitality of the area, which is why I have worked on, and tried to bring attention to, the issues at Tower 55 since the authorization of the last transportation bill," said U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville. "Action is needed to address the problems at Tower 55, not only because of congestion and economic reasons, but more importantly, for the safety of those in the North Texas communities along the line."
Funding to make the improvements would come from a number of sources in addition to the federal funds, including BNSF, UP and North Central Texas Council of Governments.
Nearly 1,000 CSX
Transportation engineering employees completed the annual coal route
maintenance project the week of July 5. Track maintenance teams worked their
way across the Appalachian coal route, which includes Kentucky, West Virginia,
Tennessee, New York, North Carolina and South Carolina. Demand for coal remains
strong, and on a typical day as many as 50 trains make their way across this
important corridor.
Norfolk Southern contract
crews have set up warning signs, and one of Bluefield, W. Va.’s bridges that
traverses the NS main line in the city’s East End will be coming down within the
next two weeks
,
the Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports.
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.
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.
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.
During the recession in the
early 2000s, U.S. freight railroads slashed spending and services. When
business revived, they were roundly criticized for bottlenecks and delays, The
Wall Street Journal reports. This time around, the railroads have continued to
spend heavily, plowing more than $20 billion into capital improvements to widen
tracks and tunnels, upgrade cars and engines and enhance their technology.
Teamsters General
President Jim Hoffa called on Congress to stress road and bridge repair and
public transit expansion in the next federal highway bill.
U.S. Secretary of
Transportation Ray LaHood announced members of the Transit Rail Advisory
Committee for Safety (TRACS), a newly-formed advisory committee that will
assist the Federal Transit Administration with developing national safety
standards for rail transit.
The Metropolitan Council awarded
the first heavy construction contract for the Central Corridor light rail
transit Project to Walsh Construction to build the seven-mile St. Paul segment
of the line. Walsh’s $205.1-million award includes betterment work valued at
$10.4 million that was requested by, and will be paid for, by cooperating
agencies and utilities.
America’s growing economy
moves more and more freight on rails and Ohio is increasingly one of the
critical links to keep those goods rolling. Already nearing completion of its
Heartland Corridor between Chicago, Columbus and the Port of Norfolk, Va.,
Norfolk Southern is extending the corridor’s reach to Cincinnati.
For weeks, a giant yellow
and blue truss has been in place along the Dulles Connector Road (Route 267)
near Route 123 where the trains will move from the Connector Road to the
northwest side of Route 123. That truss weighs about 366 tons and is now being
used to lift huge concrete segments into place to make the spans between piers
that will create the aerial bridges for support tracks across Tysons Corner.
Those piers have been built along Route 123 and in the middle of the Dulles
Connector Road.
The first tentative steps
toward building an ore haul railway to the James Bay Lowlands began this past
winter, Northern Ontario Business reports. Helicopters moved drills into place
as geologists tested frozen riverbanks north of Nakina, taking core samples to
determine where bridges can be built to haul ore from a chromite open pit in
the Far North’s ‘Ring of Fire’ exploration camp.
Elected officials closed of
a $100-million deal with CSX Corp. to launch commuter rail service to the South
Coast and increase service for Central Massachusetts commuters, the Telegram
and Gazette reports. The agreement, announced by the governor and other
officials, allows the state to buy more than 30 miles of track from Taunton to
the Fall River and New Bedford area, which is crucial to passenger service.
Construction for a bridge
over Lenwood Road near West Main Street in Barstow, Calif., is expected to
begin in two years and will transform the current two-lane road into a
four-lane road, the Desert Dispatch reports.
BART and Caltrans will need
to close a portion of westbound Interstate 580 in the Dublin/Pleasanton area
beginning 11p.m. on Saturday, June 19 through 9 a.m. Sunday, June 20. Ramps
from Interstate 680 leading to the impacted segment of I-580 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.
Burns & McDonnell has
reached an agreement to acquire Harrington & Cortelyou, Inc., a consulting
engineering firm with a well-established national reputation for engineering
design of fixed and movable highway and railway bridges. Based in Downtown
Kansas City, Harrington & Cortelyou has been providing engineering and
construction management services since 1907. The firm has designed and
supervised construction of more than 800 bridges in Missouri, including several
major bridge improvements in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
What do the New York
Times, the City of Philadelphia, LaSalle University and Miracle Whip all have
in common? They are among the first to advertise on the newly installed digital
monitors at PATCO’s 8th & Market Streets Station. The station is equipped
with four, 52-inch digital monitors, located at the platform level. The
monitors display advertisements as well as weather, PATCO news and information.
Central Massachusetts
commuters may have more rail options in about two years when CSX Corp.
completes its expansion project in Worcester and the state is able to add more
passenger trains, The Telegram & Gazette reports.
