INDUSTRY TODAY Supplier News Production/Switch Tamper and Ballast Regulator for TasRail in Australia. Michael Baker Jr., Inc., has been awarded a threeyear, $9.8-million contract by the Illinois Department of Transportation to prepare a Tier 2 Environmental Impact Statement for the future expansion of highspeed rail service on the Chicago – St. Louis corridor between Granite City, Ill., and St. Louis, Mo.; the company was also awarded a two-year, multimilliondollar contract to provide construction management and construction inspection services for the expansion of Norfolk Southern’s Rutherford Intermodal Facility near Harrisburg, Pa.
6 Railway Track & Structures
MassDOT begins rehabilitation efforts needed for South Coast Rail The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) began construction to rehabilitate the Fall River and New Bedford railroad lines, a necessary step toward providing South Coast Rail service. Thousands of rail ties and spikes will be installed along 33 miles of right-of-way leading to Fall River and New Bedford beginning this fall and continuing until winter weather freezes the rail bed. Work will resume in spring 2014. “South Coast residents deserve the benefits of a reliable and convenient connection to Boston and points in between,” said Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. “The upgrades strengthen the track to provide safer operations for current freight service while getting the corridor ready for the complete rehabilitation required to provide higher-speed passenger service,” said South Coast Rail Project Manager Jean Fox. A total of approximately 42,000 crossties and thousands of spikes will be installed along the 14 miles of track leading
December 2013
to Fall River and 19 miles of track leading to New Bedford. The commonwealth of Massachusetts purchased the rail lines from CSX in order to provide access for future South Coast Rail service. Other investments and milestones supporting South Coast Rail to date include rebuilding of three New Bedford rail bridges, funded by a $20-million federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant; the release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and MassDOT’s adoption the Corps’ document as the state-required Final Environmental Impact Report, with the Stoughton rail alternative as the preferred route and South Coast Rail Economic Development and Land Use Corridor Plan technical assistance grants and other investments provided to assist the 31 corridor communities in preparing for passenger rail through sustainable development and appropriate land use.
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