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Federal highway agency OKs construction alternative for CSX tunnel project in D.C.
Federal highway agency OKs construction alternative for CSX tunnel project in D.C.Rail News: CSX Transportation
The Federal Highway Administration (FHW) has approved a preferred construction alternative for CSX Corp.'s Virginia Avenue Tunnel project in Washington, D.C., enabling the Class I to complete design work and initiate the construction permitting process.
The decision marks the completion of an extensive environmental review conducted jointly with the District of Columbia Department of Transportation that incorporated three years of input from residents, businesses and government agencies in the southeast D.C. neighborhood around the tunnel, CSX officials said in a press release. The FHW approved temporary closure of Interstate 695 ramps located at 6th and 8th streets, and the occupancy of a portion of the 11th Street bridge right of way along the interstate.
Owned and maintained by CSX, the 4,000-foot, single-track tunnel is located beneath the eastbound lanes of Virginia Avenue. The Class I plans to reconstruct and rehabilitate the 110-year-old tunnel — including the addition of a second set of tracks — to accommodate double-stack trains, eliminate a chokepoint caused by the single track that impacts passenger trains in the region and improve the flow of freight traffic through D.C. The tunnel is one of the larger components of CSX's National Gateway, an initiative aimed at creating a double-stack intermodal corridor to link Mid-Atlantic ports with Midwestern markets for domestic and imported products.
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CSX and its design/build contractor, Clark/Parsons, now expect to soon finalize the project's design and begin applying for construction permits. Major construction is slated to begin in the next several months. In response to residents' feedback, the selected construction alternative has the shortest timespan (30 to 42 months) and ensures that trains operate in enclosed tunnels in front of nearby homes.
CSX gets federal agency’s clearance to rebuild aging rail tunnel in Southeast D.C.
By Luz Lazo November 4 at 7:11 PM
The Federal Highway Administration has given CSX Transportation clearance to rebuild an aging rail tunnel in Southeast Washington.
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Daily, 20 to 30 cargo trains travel the 3,800-foot-long tunnel, beneath Virginia Avenue SE, from 2nd to Eleventh streets. The federal review found that rebuilding the 110-year-structure is necessary to maintain the integrity of what is considered an important access point in the East Coast rail system. Along with improving with the tunnel’s deteriorating condition, CSX has proposed expanding the tunnel to increase capacity. After completion, the $170 million project will allow for double-stacked freight cars.
The plan approved by the government would convert the single-track tunnel into two tracks, addressing a choke point created when trains passing through the tunnel merge from two tracks to one and slow the movement of freight up and down the East Coast.
Although commuter trains don’t use the tunnel, when there is a problem that halts freight traffic, it affects commuter-rail access to and from Union Station. Virginia Railway Express trains cross the Long Bridge from Virginia and use the CSX freight trains’ tracks before heading to Union Station.
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Not so fast.
Committee Of 100 Files Suit To Stop CSX Virginia Avenue Tunnel In Its Tracks
Sarah Anne Hughes in News on Nov 12, 2014 12:45 pm
The D.C. organization devoted to upholding L'Enfant's plan filed suit in federal court today over the possible expansion of a CSX rail tunnel along Virginia Avenue.
Currently at issue in the multi-year saga is the Federal Highway Administration's approval of a construction alternative that gives CSX the ability to apply for permits. A lawsuit filed by the Committee of 100 on the Federal City claims the Environmental Impact Statement and FHWA's Record of Decision approving the build alternative suffered from "predetermination" and failed to adequately address concerns.
Outside the District Court for the District of Columbia today, Monte Edwards, vice president of the Committee of 100, said his organization took an "active role" in the environmental review process, but "our concerns were not adequately answered."
"CSX double tracks converge to a single track at the West portal entrance to the Virginia Avenue Tunnel." Via CSX.
I hope it's from CSX, as that's not really a good place to stand without the railroad's making sure no one is going anywhere.