WASHINGTON — Connecticut has received $144.9 million in grants for bridge replacement, NJ Transit has received $18.3 million for upgrades to a Trenton passenger station, Michigan has received $15.57 million for improvements to state-owned rail right of way, and San Diego’s North County Transit District will receive $9.8 million for signal and crossing upgrades as part of Federal Railroad Administration grants.
Announcements of individual programs were made Friday and Monday by local elected officials, in advance of an FRA announcement of all awards under the Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair Grant Program. A full announcement could come later this week.
Connecticut received two awards. One is for $79.7 million to the Connecticut Department of Transportation and Amtrak to help fund replacement of the Walk Bridge in Norwalk, a movable bridge built in 1896, with two independent two-track vertical lift bridges, as well as improvements to bridge supports and retaining walls, catenary structures, and signal systems. The other, for $65.2 million to Amtrak and the state DOT, will help fund replacement of the 113-year-old Connecticut River Bridge between Old Lyme and Old Saybrook with a new bascule bridge just south of the existing structure.
In Michigan, the award to the state Department of Transportation will go to improvements between Ypsilanti and Jackson, Mich., including replacement of 80,000 feet of rail, rehabilitation of 42 curves, and improvements to 16 public and eight private rail crossings. In a news release, MDOT Director Paul C. Ajegba highlighted the curve work for its significance in improving safety and helping the effort to increase speeds on the Wolverine route between Chicago, Detroit, and Pontiac, Mich.
In New Jersey, a news release reports the funds go to NJ Transit for upgrades to the Trenton Transit Center, a $27 million project to rehabilitation the station’s two island platforms, restore the canopies for those platforms, and meet Americans With Disabilities Act standards by constructing a high-level platform with an elevator to facilitate expansion by Amtrak, NJ Transit, and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. Among other work, the current wood platforms will be replaced with concrete surfaces. The station, served by Amtrak, the NJ Transit Northeast Corridor line, and SEPTA’s Regional Rail Trenton Line, handled about 3,700 NJ Transit passengers daily and 430,000 Amtrak passengers monthly prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Times of San Diego reports the grant to the North County Transit District will match state and local funding for a $19.7 million project to upgrade signal and positive train control equipment, as well as grade crossing equipment. The current equipment predates the 1991 purchase of the NCTD’s line from the Santa Fe Railway.
