State grants $1.8 million for Western Pa. rail projects
The state earmarked about $1.8 million to improve U.S. Steel Corp.’s Union Railroad infrastructure in the Braddock area and for a rail yard project along the Monongahela River in Westmoreland County.
PennDOT granted U.S. Steel Corp. $1.7 million for two projects on its Union Railroad, which serves three of the steelmaker’s plants — the Clairton coke plant, Edgar Thomson in Braddock and the Irvin finishing plant in West Mifflin — as well as other manufacturing plants in the Mon Valley.
$1 million will be used to make repairs to the Port Perry Bridge over the Monongahela River, between North Versailles and Duquesne. The beams and bridge stringers will be replaced on the bridge, which was built in 1898, according to Union Railroad history. It has not undergone a major rehabilitation since 1938, the company said.
The other $700,000 will go to replace about 500 bridge ties and 700 feet of rail on the first phase of their low-grade railroad bridge project over the Turtle Creek Viaduct at East Pittsburgh.
“These bridges are critical infrastructure that not only serve the Union Railroad, but also support the company’s Mon Valley Works operations and are also important connections to other railroads that serve the region,” U.S. Steel said in a statement. Union Railroad lines have connections to Norfolk Southern and Canadian Pacific rail lines.
The projects are expected to take up to two years to complete and U.S. Steel will use some of its own money on the projects, the steelmaker said.
Meanwhile, Three Rivers Marine & Rail Terminals LLC of Charleroi was awarded a $176,146 grant to replace about 600 railroad ties and 800 feet of track at its rail yards along the Monongahela River in the Gibsonton section of Rostraver and Monessen, said Ashley Sooch, a PennDOT spokeswoman.
A spokesman for Three Rivers Marine & Rail Terminal could not be reached for comment.
The PennDOT grant to the local projects was part of $31.3 million in funding for 26 projects statewide through the Rail Transportation Assistance Program and the Rail Freight Assistance Program.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
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