Local rail project gets state grant
Gov. Jim Doyle has announced 10 state awards totaling $30,596,082 that will be used to construct freight rail-related facilities, and preserve and upgrade rail infrastructure as part of overall efforts to support job growth and Wisconsin’s agricultural economy.
Among the projects is the Plymouth to Kohler rail line reconstruction. The Wisconsin & Southern Railroad will receive a grant of $12 million to complete total reconstruction of the rail line from Plymouth to Kohler, in Sheboygan County. This line is 14.95 miles long and will provide service to area industries that were left without rail service when the Union Pacific Rail discontinued service to Sheboygan Falls in 2006.
This line was acquired from the Union Pacific Railroad by DOT in May 2009. The Wisconsin & Southern Railroad will fund 20 percent of the project ($3 million) with funds they receive from local communities and shippers.
“Freight rail plays a critical role in Wisconsin’s transportation system, moving some 150 million tons of commodities every year,” Doyle said in a press release announcing the grants. “These grants and loans will help retain jobs and spur economic growth in many rural communities while strengthening our agricultural economy.”
The DOT is administering three loan awards totaling $3,382,944 through the Freight Railroad Infrastructure Improvement Program (FRIIP). A revolving loan program, FRIIP awards are provided to private industries, railroads, and local governments to improve rail infrastructure, highway/grade crossings, and to construct new rail-served facilities — with the overall goal to boost economic development and jobs.
As FRIIP loans are repaid, the dollars are used to help fund new projects. Most of the work on the recently approved FRIIP loan projects will begin this fall and continue in the spring of 2010.
Seven grant awards totaling $27,213,138 are being distributed through the state’s Freight Railroad Preservation Program (FRPP). FRPP grants cover up to 80 percent of the cost of projects designed to preserve rail service or rehabilitate fixed facilities on publicly owned rail lines. Award recipients provide the 20 percent local share.
Since the FRIIP program was approved by the Legislature in 1993, DOT has provided 93 loans through the program totaling over $100 million. Another $78 million in FRPP grants have been awarded to local governments and railroads since 1993. Twelve freight railroads operate in Wisconsin on a system of over 3,600 route miles of track and handle some 2.5 million rail cars each year.
