(The following appeared on the Progressive Railroading website on May 26, 2009.)
Last week, the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) approved a plan to administer a package of 22 rail projects funded through federal stimulus dollars. The projects will receive more than $77 million of the more than $700 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act proceeds received by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) for stimulus-funded transportation projects.
The projects include:
• Norfolk Southern Corp.’s line relocation for V&M Star Steel’s expansion in Youngstown ($20 million in stimulus dollars);
• CSX Transportation’s double-stack clearances for the National Gateway ($20 million);
• rehabilitation of publicly owned rail infrastructure in Jackson ($2 million) and Medina ($950,000), and along the state-owned Panhandle Line (bridges and the Gould Tunnel) and Piney Fork Line ($7 million);
• a programmatic environmental impact statement for four of the seven proposed high-speed rail corridors in the Ohio Hub Plan. ($7 million);
• NS’ Airline Yard project ($6.5 million); and
• double-stack capacity improvements along NS’ Heartland Corridor ($3.6 million).
An independent agency within the ODOT, ORDC oversees freight and passenger railroad concerns, grade crossing safety, and rail travel and tourism issues.