Secretary LaHood announced $2.02 Billion in high-speed rail awards this morning. This is the money that Florida’s governor gave up along with the jobs it would have created and likely any hope of winning their bid for the FIFA world cup. It also includes the money that the governor’s of Ohio and Wisconsin gave up. There were over $10 billion in applications for these funds. So, Florida’s loss was bound to be someone’s gain, and 22 projects in 15 states will be funded.
The heavily traveled and economically successful Northeast Corridor received a boost. Amtrak was given $450 million in funds. States in the region were awarded a total of $345 million for other NEC-specific projects. The investments will increase speeds from 135 to 160 miles per hour on critical segments, improve on-time performance and add more seats for passengers. $295 million will be used to alleviate congestion around Manhattan. new routes will allow Amtrak trains to bypass the busiest passenger rail junction in the nation. It funds the entire amount requested for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Harold Interlocking plan. In a process that seems to be dribbling out small segments of the eventually pretty large pie, this is quite unusual.
The Empire Corridor, the new Erie Canal to connect all of New York State will receive money for improvements to the Albany station by adding a fourth track. Albany Rensselaer accounts for a lot of delays on Amtrak, and this should help with that issue. The Schenectady train station will be replaced. This is long overdue; it is a pit that makes the area bus stations seem like the first class lounges at major airports. Rochester will receive funds for preliminary engineering and environmental studies for a much-needed new Intermodal Station. The lion’s share of the money, and a grant of the amount requested, is going for Northeast Corridor congestion relief.
Other projects funded include improvements in the service between Detroit and Chicago and between St. Louis and Chicago in the Midwest. The goal is to cut the time of the trip between Detroit and Chicago by 30 minutes. One thousand construction jobs are expected to be added to the region.
There was an award to increase the current California Central Valley project by an additional 20 miles.
Links to the press releases and to some early coverage are below:
http://fastlane.dot.gov/2011/05/hsr-grant-announcement.html#more
http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2011/dot5711.html
http://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Capital-Region-gets-58M-that-Fla-rejected-for-1371753.php
Posted on May 9, 2011
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