WASHINGTON — Nine rail-related projects were included among the 37 receiving funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation through Mega Grant and INFRA Grant program funding announced on Friday.
Two projects — including one from the rail-related group — received grants under both programs. The Mega Grant program — formally the National Infrastructure Projecg Assistance program, is for projects that are large, complex, and difficult to fund under traditional grant programs. The INFRA program, or Infrastructure for Rebuilding America, also is intended to fund large projects.
“With this announcement, we are advancing projects so large, complex, and ambitious that they could not get funded under the infrastructure programs that existed prior to the Biden administration,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a press release. “Our INFRA and Mega programs are helping build the cathedrals of American infrastructure: truly transformative projects that will change entire regions and our entire country for the better.”
The rail-focused projects among the 11 receiving Mega grants had been announced by local elected officials prior to Christmas. They include:
— The St. Lucie River Railroad Bridge in Florida [see “Congressman says Stuart, Fla., will receive grant …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 18, 2023].
— The Pier B Rail Program at the Port of Long Beach, and the Interstate 5 bridge replacement between Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash., which includes provisions for light rail [see “Port of Long Beach rail project …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 19, 2023].
— The Louisiana International Terminal project [see “Port of New Orleans lands $73.8 million Mega Grant …,” News Wire, Dec. 22, 2023]. This project also received $226 million in INFRA funds. The other project to receive funding under both programs is for improvements on Interstate 90 along the Idaho-Montana state line; it received $32 million in Mega funds and $34 million in INFRA funding.
The other Mega Grants announced Friday are highway projects, although one, the $80 million I-895 Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, includes a grade-crossing improvement component. A complete list of the Mega grant awards is available here.
Rail projects included in the INFRA program, along with the Louisiana International Terminal, are:
— $17.1 million to the Alaska Railroad Corp. for replacement of a bridge across the Chena River at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska with a four-span, 342-foot bridge placed across existing piers; some of the older bridge will replaced by an embankment, reducing the total bridge length by nearly half.
— $53.9 million to the North County Transit District of San Diego to replace a 107-year-old, single-track wooden trestle over the San Dieguito River. The new bridge will be double tracked and raise the height of the bridge by 8 feet to account for changes in sea level.
— $15.1 million to the Georgia Ports Authority for berth replacement at the Port of Brunswick’s East River Terminal. The project will demolish and replace Berth No. 2’s main dock and rebuild Berth No. 3 at half its existing length; it will also include infrastructure work to support a shift from trucks to rail to bring commodities to the port.
— $25 million to Kane County, Ill., for a grade crossing separation and intersection improvements where Randall Road meets Canadian National Railway tracks in Elgin, Ill., as well as reconstruction of an adjacent intersection.
— $28 million to the Nevada Department of Transportation for the Elko Rail Corridor Enhancement Project, which will include new power-operated crossovers, a new crossover connection so trains can be diverted around the yard; yard track extensions, and signal improvements. The project is expected to reduce an average of 2.5 hours of delay per train. The current split platform for Amtrak boarding will also be consolidated at the current westbound platform.
A complete list of the INFRA grant awards is available here.
