S-Line Rail Corridor Construction Progresses
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
[Left-to-right] NCDOT Division 5 Division Engineer Becca Gallas, NCDOT Secretary Daniel Johnson, Federal Railroad Administration Deputy Administrator Drew Feeley, and NCDOT Rail Division Director Jason Orthner reviewed plans for the S‑Line grade separation project on New Hope Church Road in Raleigh on Thursday.
Image and caption courtesy of NCDOT
RALEIGH - NCDOT announced construction will take place in Wake County for a high-performance passenger rail line.
The line will connect North Carolina and Virginia and is part of the S-Line Raleigh to Richmond (R2R) project. The S-Line is owned by CSX and connects Richmond, Va. to Tampa, Fla. and is a “critical missing link to completing the buildout of the Southeast Corridor.” The project involves providing future high-performance passenger rail services that connect the two cities.
As part of this project, NCDOT says its own crews, along with contract crews, began construction on a grade separation project at New Hope Church Road in Raleigh earlier in February. Over the course of the three-year project, crews will construct a bridge over the railroad to replace the current at-grade crossing at a cost of $22.7 million.
In 2024, construction began elsewhere in North Raleigh at Durant Road. Crews finished work on roadway embankments to the proposed bridge. NCDOT says construction of said bridge will begin this summer. Additionally, utility work is underway at Millbrook Road in Raleigh and Rogers Road in Wake Forest as acquisitions of land for grade separations take place.
NCDOT Secretary Daniel Johnson said, “This project is a game changer for those who travel along the East Coast corridor – once complete, the service will save over an hour of travel time between Raleigh and Richmond. . . The continued advancement on this important project would not be possible without our partners working together, including the Federal Railroad Administration, CSX, Amtrak, the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority, and NCDOT Rail and Highway Divisions.”
