DOT Grants Announced for Key Rail Projects

The U.S Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded two key rail projects FAST Act grants.

DOT will give the Virginia Atlantic Gateway Project a $165 million FASTLANE grant, bringing the total investment in the project to $1.4 billion.

According to Progressive Railroading, the project will address some of the worst traffic along the Interstate-95 corridor. It will add passenger- and freight-rail along I-95 in northern Virginia and increase East Coast rail network capacity and bus service.

DOT also awarded the Oregon Coos Bay Rail Line $11 million to rehabilitate nine crumbling tunnels along the rail link between Eugene and Coquille.

The former shipping rail link passes through an 82-mile section where the 100+-year old tunnels have deteriorated extensively. Due to safety, the line was shut down in 2007. Getting it back up and running will reduce area emissions and highway congestion as cargo switches back to rail, said U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The grant is part of the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects program, created under the 2015 FAST Act to fund freight projects that support economic growth.

Read the original story on the Progressive Railroading website.