City submits grant on behalf of Panhandle Northern Railroad

Written by Kyra Senese, Managing Editor
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The city of Borger, Texas, has submitted a federal grant for the 2018 Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program.

The submission relates to a project intended to improve safety and security of the shortline rail system.

The CRISI grant, provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 and supported by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), is offering $65 million to be allocated throughout the U.S. to enhance railroad infrastructure and safety improvements.

The city of Borger will be the lead applicant for the grant, officials said. The city is joined in the application by two co-applicants who are also both eligible applicants under the CRISI program: The Panhandle Northern Railroad, LLC (PNR), and the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission.

The project will invest about $4.3 million in the installation of more than 13,000 new crossties, and 13,000 tons of new ballast to further secure the track structure along the PNR’s 32-mile owned right-of way.

Officials say the project suggests strategies to decrease the derailment risk on PNR and enable the continued and improved safe transportation of more than 10,000 carloads of materials, including sensitive materials such as anhydrous ammonia, refined gasoline, crude oil, toxic corrosive liquids, and more than 1,000 carloads of other hazardous materials.

The project is also set to promote economic vitality for the Borger area and the Texas Panhandle Region.

“The City of Borger is excited about this opportunity to help the railroad and our industrial partners in the community. Industry is a part of who we are as a community and we are pleased to be able to step up and help out with this opportunity,” said Mayor Bubba Dixon. “This project would directly support the safety of our community and will enhance the economic prosperity of Borger as it is implemented. The city is desirous that the grant will be funded, and the project executed.”

If the project is funded, PNR said it will provide the entire local grant match for the project for the amount of about $2.1 million and make initial payments to contractors and sub-recipients totaling $4.3 million throughout the duration of the project.

The grant application was submitted by the city of Borger on June 20.

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