WASHINGTON — Local legislators and recipients are beginning to announce that they have been awarded Federal Railroad Administration grants for infrastructure projects. The Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grants can be used for passenger projects, grade-crossing improvements, capacity projects and other rail projects. Among those announced so far:
— $21.5 million to the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis for rehab and reconstruction of the Merchants Bridge, which dates to 1980 and currently restricted to traffic on one of its two main tracks. The funds go toward a $220 million project to replace three main spans over the Mississippi River, upgrade piers, and rehabilitate the east approach.
— $17.4 million for a new CTrail Hartford Line station at Windsor Locks, Conn., which will replace a current bus-shelter style station about a mile away, as reported by the Associated Press;
— $16.8 million to the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, operating agency of Amtrak’s Downeaster, for 6 miles of double track, station improvements, and anew pedestrian bridge in Wells, Me., as reported by the Portland Press-Herald;
—$5.4 million for a grade-crossing separation project in Hattiesburg, Miss., as well as a new connection to a Norfolk Southern yard, as reported by the Hattiesburg American.
— $4 million to create grade-crossing quiet zones in Longmont, Colo., which currently has 17 crossings requiring trains to sound their horns;
— $225,000 to the Colorado Department and Transportation and Front Range Passenger Rail Commission to fund a study on possible rail service connecting Colorado Springs, Colo., to the route of the Southwest Chief.
Trains News Wire will provide information on additional grant recipients as they become available.
Heard about the TRRA grant to fix the Merchants Bridge. Amtrak uses it at times when traffic is too heavy on their usual route. But bridge is older than 1980, Just checked an article that the local NRHS news editor sent me and it says built in 1890. I knew it was very old and needed updating We took a railfan tour of their yards and headquarters in IL a couple of years ago and they were talking about it then. Load restrictions and could use one track. Glad they will get it fixed.
The Merchants Bridge opened in 1889, well before 1980. Don’t worry; numbers aren’t important. I’m available weekday morning for proofreading, if asked. No charge.
Is this single or double track? If double track – and if passenger trains use both tracks – it might require a bridge with enclosed stairwells plus elevator on each side. Also possible are high level platforms on some lines. Nothing comes cheap anymore. See Pages 14-15 of the April 2020 edition of TRAINS-MAG for a comparable at Sturtevant in Racine County, Wisconsin, on the Hiawatha line.
Also parking comes at a price. Let’s say access driveways and parking spaces cost, I don’t know, $15k per parking space or drop–off space. Fifty cars would be $750k, plus real estate and utility relocation, easily over a million dollars.
As I said I don’t know if Windsor Locks is double or single iron. If double track, and if parking and access roads included. it would resemble Sturtevant Wisconsin, and I could see $17.4 M’s go out the door rather quickly.
The question isn’t so much the cost as this: how many passengers would use and how many tickets or monthly passes sold to help retire the debt.
I used that bus shelter station back in the late 80’s. I can imagine what it looks like now. A new station would be great especially since there are probably more passengers using the station now.
Mr. Fegley and Mr. Foster, neither of you understand that since there’s only a bus shelter type facility there now that everything from the ground up will have to be built new, it might even require acquiring more land, besides a waiting room, restrooms, a new building and everything included with that, ADA compliance., etc., etc., it build up after a while and if you thought about it, $17.4 million is actually rather inexpensive for the North East, and we are talking CT here.
I also raised my eyebrows at the $17.4 M new train station. I’d sure be interested in learning exactly what all us federal tax payers are funding.
More on the Merchants Bridge: TRRA couldn’t wait on the Feds any longer and got a loan to start the work last year.
Thank you Mr Sartain. I thought that date was off by just a little say about 60 yrs. Also I would like to know what kind of station CTrail is building for 17.4 million? Going from bus type shelter to Palace ?