(The Associated Press circulated the following on March 18, 2009.)
TOPEKA — Kansas is setting aside $3 million in federal stimulus funds for short-line railroad projects.
The Department of Transportation said Monday that it is giving railroads and local port authorities until 5 p.m. March 23 to apply for the money. The agency says it will announce which projects have been selected a week later.
The money is part of the $378 million in transportation funds the state expects to receive from the recently-enacted federal stimulus package.
Transportation Secretary Deb Miller noted that short lines account for about 1,900 rail miles, or 41 percent of the total, in Kansas, and she said they carry more than 14 million tons of freight a year.
Miller said priority will be given to projects that will help with an area’s economic development and create jobs this summer.