PennDOT awards more than $1 million to improve railroad tracks to Braddock's Edgar Thomson Plant

PennDOT awarded more than $1 million for railway track upgrades and expansion projects in Allegheny County, state Sen. Jim Brewster announced.

U.S. Steel Corp. was awarded nearly $690,000 to complete rail track updates, to accommodate a new hot rolling mill at the Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock. The mill was announced in May. The rolling facility was predicted to cost around $1 billion, according to U.S. Steel.

Union Railroad was also awarded nearly $458,000 to construct new tracks and new rail turnout that will serve U.S. Steel’s new mill.

“The railways that serve the industrial facilities of our region remain as critical components of highly integrated rail network,” said Brewster, in a news release. “I am pleased that the state has made this significant investment that will help businesses in the area and create an environment that is conducive to job creations.”

Together, steel and railway work accounts for around 3,000 jobs in Pennsylvania, according to 2018 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“I will continue to push for investments in railway and manufacturing operations,” Brewster said.