NCDOT plans $27M in rail improvements for Charlotte

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CHARLOTTE – The North Carolina Department of Transportation is planning to spend $27 million on four railroad improvement projects for the Charlotte area over the next four years.

City Council members received an update on the projects as part of their Oct. 8 meeting. The funds are being provided by grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to Michael Shumsky, senior engineer with the NCDOT rail division.

Shumsky told the City Council the four projects include: building a 12-mile section of double-track main line between Charlotte and Concord, a DoT locomotive and railcar maintenance facility to be built near uptown, a grade separation at the Sugar Creek Road railroad crossing and separating the Norfolk Southern and CSX freight lines from the passenger lines at the railroad crossing near Graham Street and Interstate 277.

Shumsky said the start date for construction on most of the projects is still to be determined, but the line between Charlotte and Concord was expected to begin in 2013.

He said the DOT hopes that the increased rail capacity will encourage more industrial growth along the rail corridor between Charlotte and Concord.

The deadline for City Council to spend the $27 million in ARRA funds is Sept. 30, 2017.