Perry County gets $11.5M for railroad replacement
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The funding will support the replacement and rehabilitation of aging railroad track in Perry County. (photo courtesy of the Perry County Port Authority)
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The funding will support the replacement and rehabilitation of aging railroad track in Perry County. (photo courtesy of the Perry County Port Authority)
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The funding will support the replacement and rehabilitation of aging railroad track in Perry County. (photo courtesy of the Perry County Port Authority)
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the Perry County Port Authority more than $11.5 million to upgrade more than 14 miles of aging railroad track. The authority said the effort will enhance safety and efficiency as well as facilitate increased freight capacity.
PCPA General Manager Jared Kleemann told Inside INdiana Business the funding will cover nearly the entire cost of the $12 million project, which has already upgraded 5.5 miles of track.
The authority said the investment will enable it to achieve a long-standing goal for of reaching the industry standard 286,000-pound railcar capacity on the railroad track.
“We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Transportation for their recognition of the critical nature and importance of this project,” Kleeman said in written remarks. “This grant will allow us to transform our rail infrastructure, paving the way for increased economic opportunities and positioning Perry County as a strategic logistics hub for commerce and trade in our area and beyond.”
The PCPA said the replacement and rehabilitation of the railroad track will provide benefits, including improved freight transportation, lower transportation costs for customers, reduced congestion on roadways and enhanced connectivity to regional and national markets.
Additionally, the project is expected to create 40 construction jobs, three new railroad jobs once the upgraded rail network is completed, as well as up to 20 ancillary logistics jobs.
“We also expect to see a yet to be determined number of new jobs from industry growth,” Kleemann said.
Construction is slated to begin in the fourth quarter and take up to one year to complete.
The grant comes from the USDOT’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE, Grant program.