(The following story by Kate S. Alexander appeared on the Herald-Mail website on February 18, 2010.)
GREENCASTLE, Pa. — Not one cent of the $105 million in federal transportation stimulus money awarded Wednesday to railroad giant Norfolk Southern will be allocated to Pennsylvania, a company spokesman said.
The U.S. Department of Transportation doled out $1.5 billion in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants to 51 major infrastructure projects across the United States this week.
Norfolk Southern requested more than $300 million for its Crescent Corridor project, a $2.5 billion freight rail system that stretches from the Gulf Coast to Philadelphia, spokesman Rudy Husband said.
Pennsylvania was among a group of states that included Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi in applying for the grant.
The project will receive the largest allocation of TIGER funds, but the intermodal rail facility proposed for the Greencastle area will not receive a dime, Husband said.
The grant stipulated that all of the $105 million will go to build intermodal facilities in Birmingham, Ala., and Memphis, Tenn., he said.
“We were hoping to secure some TIGER funds for the Greencastle project as well, but overall we are extremely satisfied,” he said.
To date, only Pennsylvania and Virginia have contributed state funds to the project, according to a Norfolk Southern press release issued Wednesday.
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell declined to comment on the outcome of the application, which Husband said Pennsylvania spearheaded and provided with significant support, according to Gary Tuma, a spokesman for the governor.
Tuma said Rendell is pleased that another major rail project, the CSX National Gateway Project, also received TIGER funds for its double-stacked freight lines stretching into Chambersburg, Pa.
“It is a good federal investment in CSX, and the governor appreciates that,” Tuma said. “We have no comment on Norfolk Southern.”
Rendell has been a major supporter of Norfolk Southern’s Crescent Corridor, promising $45 million in state funds for the project.
Husband said Norfolk Southern was still analyzing its TIGER award and the lack of funding for Pennsylvania could affect the Greencastle project.
“We are re-evaluating the scope and schedule of the Greencastle intermodal project,” he said. “Right now, we are in the process of determining if there are any other sources of public funds available.”
Franklin County Area Development Corp. President Mike Ross said the TIGER awards to Norfolk Southern and to CSX show the federal government is taking the need for upgraded rail freight seriously.
The TIGER funding awarded to CSX will have a direct impact on Franklin County, as it will fund rail improvements into the Chambersburg Intermodal Facility, he said.
“This is one huge step to bring Norfolk Southern’s project to fruition and to enhance the project of CSX,” he said.
When the Greencastle facility is built, it will, in combination with the CSX facility, position Franklin County as rural economic leader, Ross said.