Five organizations in five western Pennsylvania counties are recipients of $864,475 in grants to help finance rail freight assistance plans, part of a 30-project, $4-plus million statewide allotment designed to create more than 1,000 jobs.
The funding, from the state Department of Transportation's Rail Freight Assistance program, will be used to construct, maintain, repair and rehabilitate rail lines, sidings and grade crossings.
In western Pennsylvania, the awardees include:
The Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway Co., $205,823 for rehabilitation of track and a bridge that will allow the railroad's Clairton, Allegheny County, branch to return to service.
The Community Development Corporation of Butler County, $81,252 to rehabilitate track and construct a new rail spur that will allow an increase in service to the former U.S. Steel Corp. sintering plant site, creating 25 jobs.
Nova Chemicals Inc., $77,400 to rehabilitate track within the company's Potter Township, Beaver County plant, increasing safety and allowing heavier railcars inside the facility.
The Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp., awarded $250,000 to rehabilitate the Mt. Pleasant and Radebaugh rail lines, to ensure safer transport of hazardous materials.
The Fay-Penn Industrial Development Corp., $250,000 to help rehabilitate a bridge and seven miles of track in Dunbar and Bullskin townships in Fayette County.
