YouTube
|
Twitter/HCPSports
|
YouTube/HCPSports
|
Twitter
|
Facebook
|
Home
To Advertise Call (937) 840-9490
In The News
Headlines
Social
Education
Sports
Hillsboro
Greenfield
Lynchburg
Fairfield
Whiteoak
Southern State
Opinions
Dr. Andy Bowman
Jeanette Sekan
Rory Ryan
Steve Roush
Jim Thompson
Christine Tailer
Jim Surber
Letters to Editor
R.D. Hottle
Obituaries
Classifieds
Place an ad online
Extras
REM
Community Calendar
Sports Calendar
Real Estate & Auctions
Star Cinemas
Display Ads
Photo Galleries
Videos
Link Directory
Life
About Us
Delays & Closings
Angela Shepherd
, Village of Greenfield
Friday, March 13, 2020
SHARE ONLINE
Please, make sure that you have entered valid email addresses!
Link
Share with
recipients` e-mail
From
your e-mail
Subject
optional
Comments
optional
Generate New Image
Get Audio Code
Type the code from the image
Please, reenter the code in the captcha!
The link was successfully Sent!
Ooops!:( An error has occurred!
Comments (0)
$3.4 million grant awarded for Greenfield railroad
Partnerships helped reach match money goals for federal grant
Sen. Portman praises US DOT
U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) has praised the Department of Transportation (DOT) for awarding a $1.7 million grant to the Ohio Rail Development Commission for their Revitalizing Rail to Retain Jobs in Rural Ohio program.
Located in Clinton and Highland counties, the Revitalizing Rail to Retain Jobs in Rural Ohio Project (the project) will repair and rehabilitate 29.5 miles of track from the Indiana & Ohio Railway connection in Midland to Greenfield in order to ensure the line’s continued existence.
The project will install over 20,000 ties, including surfacing, brush cutting, and gauging where needed, to return the line to a state of good repair. Currently, the state of the line is poor, with a severe lack of adequate ties throughout the line to maintain necessary track classification to effectively serve customers. These deficiencies are especially prevalent between Midland and Leesburg.
“This is great news for southwest Ohio, specifically Clinton, and Highland counties. I applaud Secretary Elaine Chao for providing Ohio with the resources need to repair and upgrade our infrastructure,” said Portman. “These infrastructure upgrades are essential for improving the safety, efficiency, and reliability of our freight movement, which continue to foster economic growth for Southwest Ohio.”
Greenfield has been awarded a grant totaling more than $3.4 million for improvements on its 29-mile rail spur.
This comes only a couple years after the completion of another multi-million dollar improvement project on the rail line. However, the railroad was not refurbished as thoroughly as what was originally planned due to significant cost increases over the nearly four years it took from project funding to actually getting the project started.
Due to that, there have been ongoing maintenance issues along the rail that this grant will remedy. According to Greenfield City Manager Todd Wilkin, the grant dollars will cover improvements like tie replacement, the replacement of a couple crossings that are in poor shape and several bridge replacements.
The award came with the help of partnerships with the Highland County Board of Commissioners, APEG (Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth), ODRC (Ohio Rail Development Commission), ODOT (Ohio Department of Transportation), the Governor’s Office of Appalachia and the Federal ARC (Appalachian Regional Commission).
Through the partnerships, the match money of more than $1.7 million was raised for the 50/50 grant. That money was matched through the federal Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program.
“It’s a great thing for the county,” getting the rail system to a better level of operation as it supports so much industry and employment in the county, Highland County Commissioner Jeff Duncan said.
Wilkin thanked those involved in the partnerships for their dedication to Greenfield’s rail spur. “It means a lot,” he said. “It’s a big deal for our region. We are still waiting for the details as to how and when we can get started. Our goals are to remedy the slow orders on the track.”
Currently, the rail is rated at 10 miles per hour, which is the lowest allowable rating for transportation of hazardous materials. The improvements will bring the rail to a 25 mile per hour rating.
The 29-mile rail spur supports approximately 1,800 jobs with the industries on the line — Greenfield’s Adient, Leesburg’s Candle-lite and New Vienna’s Huhtamaki.
Huhtamaki’s plant manager, Michael Wadsworth, said, “Our facility at New Vienna has been experiencing good growth the past couple years. The security of the railroad helps to ensure this growth with the delivery of our raw materials.”
“We are very excited about the grant,” Bryan Thompson, plant manager at Adient, said. “It will give Adient and Candle-lite and Huhtamaki the ability to get more reliable deliveries” and ensure productivity.
“This grant, along with the support from other state and federal partners,” said Katy Farber, vice president of APEG, also known as Ohio Southeast, “ensures this valuable regional asset can continue to help support employment and economic growth in the area.”
“This grant shows the dedication that the Greenfield administration has for its shipping partners and the 1,800 jobs associated with the rail,” Wilkin said. “This will help solidify many local jobs for our region.”
Submit A Comment
Please fill out the form below to submit a comment.
*
indicates a required field
Comment
*
Your Name
Email
Phone
Article comments are not posted immediately to the Web site. Each submission must be approved by the Web site editor, who may edit content for appropriateness. There may be a delay of 24-48 hours for any submission while the web site editor reviews and approves it.
Note:
All information on this form is required. Your telephone number is for our use only, and will not be attached to your comment.
Submit
X
Search only accepts letters and numbers.
Most Viewed
Most Commented
Fairfield Local Athletic Hall of Fame Committee announces 2023 Hall of Fame inductees
(1121 views)
2022-23 FAC/SHAC High School Basketball Results
(1091 views)
State-ranked Fairfield Lions defeat county rival Hillsboro by 22 points
(891 views)
Timothy 'Rug' E. Griffith
(862 views)
Timothy E. Brown
(780 views)
You can’t have it both ways
(18 comments)
Highland County land bank agrees to 'cost-sharing agreement' with Village of Greenfield; will contribute $50K toward Elliott Hotel demo
(3 comments)
A tale of two princes
(3 comments)
Texas border sheriff sends SOS seeking aid: 'Illegal aliens wreaking havoc in our communities'
(2 comments)
Janet 'Jan' L. Hammond
(2 comments)
Our app is now available!
YouTube
|
Twitter/HCPSports
|
Twitter
|
Facebook
|
Life
|
Home
Content © 2018 Cameco Communications • 128 S. High Street • Hillsboro, Ohio 45133
The Highland County Press
Telephone 937-840-9490 • Fax 937-840-9492 • Email
[email protected]
Privacy Policy
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##