State applies for funding for Crescent Corridor

Earlier this week, lead state Pennsylvania, joined by Mississippi, Alabama, Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina, applied for federal money under the TIGER II Discretionary Grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The application seeks $109.2 million.

“On behalf of Norfolk Southern, I commend and thank our partners for their recognition of the value the Crescent Corridor offers their states,” said CEO Wick Moorman.

The Crescent Corridor is a program of improvements to infrastructure and other facilities geared toward creating a high-capacity, 2,500-mile intermodal route spanning from New Jersey to Louisiana that touches 26 percent of the nation’s population and 30 percent of the nation’s manufacturing output.

When fully operational it will handle more rail freight traffic faster and more reliably, creating or benefiting some 73,000 green jobs by 2030.

The Crescent Corridor program of projects is estimated to cost $2.5 billion for full development. Crescent Corridor projects currently planned for development include new independent intermodal facilities at Birmingham, Ala., Charlotte, N.C., Memphis, Tenn., and Franklin County, Pa.; the expansion of intermodal terminals in Harrisburg and Philadelphia, Pa.; and the addition of freight rail capacity in Virginia and Mississippi. In addition to facility investments, the program includes significant investments in rail route improvements consisting of additional passing tracks, double track projects, improved signaling systems and other track speed enhancements.