Brother Otto

$120M was budgeted in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant for the Mainline Grade Separation Project. That $120M needed to pay for the following: a 3,400' long trench w/ a single CSXT track, but wide enough to accommodate a second mainline track---trench needed to be deep enough to accommodate double stack containers temporary realignment of the CSXT SF-Line to maintain CSXT traffic during construction temporary realignment of the NS Mainline ( which would have had to be two tracks) and a new temporary interlocking with the SF-Line new connections from NS and CSXT to the ADM flour mill O-Line bridge over the trench and two additional roadway bridges over the trench....... a new flour load out facility for ADM----which requires extensive modifications to the existing ADM flour mill All of this for $120M!!! The biggest challenge was that you had a project that impacted three Fortune 500 companies, ADM, CSXT, and NS-----but none of them wanted it. The project would have required agreements with all three corporations. ADM wanted a brand new flour mill.....NS didn't need the project b/c the controlled the interlocking.....CSXT wanted a double track trench---but really didn't need the project. Even with the expected growth of freight traffic, additional passenger trains through Graham due to relocating the passenger station to the Gateway Station site, and future commuter trains, there are still at-grade rail crossings in Chicago, Fort Worth, and Colton, CA (now grade separated) that see waaaay more trains. The Mainline Grade Separation was a great project, but the finances, corporate challenges, and ARRA grant timeline requirements made it a difficult project to carry through design, right of way acquisition and construction.

The double tracking from Harrisburg to Charlotte was paid for with USDOT American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds----the $520M that the state received in 2009. The mainline grade separation project was to be paid with ARRA grants as well. NCDOT, USDOT, and NCRR paid for the Sugar Creek Road grade separation. NS is very strategic and is often skeptical about taking government money because it comes with strings attached. It just so happened that the three double tracking projects between Greensboro and Charlotte (CP Bowers to CP Lake, CP Reid to CP N. Kannapolis, and CP Haydock to CP Juncker) which are being paid for by the ARRA funds lined up with NS' vision for the Crescent Corridor. RTC modeling identified the improvements needed to add two Piedmont round trips and NS got a completely double-tracked corridor with more crossing closures, grade separations, and curve improvements from east of Gastonia to north of Greensboro. In regards to the O-Line---that is NS' only connection between Charlotte and Greensboro, that they actually own. Thus, they are extremely protective over it---as they lease the NCRR. Their request for a separate parallel route for the Red Line allows them to control their line. Accepting money to upgrade the line would require a service agreement that means they would have to prioritize commuter trains during peak workday hours, limiting their operations to primarily evening, night, and early morning use along the O-Line. This impacts scheduling of trains across their network.

In regards to the Sugar Creek Road grade separation-----there were a number of issues driving the design of the bridge: (1) The two warehouses on opposite sides of Sugar Creek, just north of the railroad crossing were designated eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). This means that the structures are protected under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and Section 4(f) of the USDOT. Section 4(f) basically means that b/c there are USDOT funds in the project, the buildings must be avoided unless there is a feasible and prudent alternative to demolishing or acquiring R/W from the buildings. The feasible and prudent alternative was based off of a horizontal alignment and typical section that stayed within the existing r/w. The warehouse in the NW quadrant of the Sugar Creek/NCRR has an entrance that faces Sugar Creek Road. That entrance needed to remain accessible. Blocking that entrance with a retaining would have resulted in an additional Adverse Effect determination from a Section 106 standpoint and a Section 4(f) impact (use). The presence of the warehouse in the NW quadrant prohibited a direct connection between the bridge and the LRT station. The connection could not be placed on the NCRR r/w and could not cross the warehouse property---as it would have been a Section 4(f) use, which requires the evaluation of an avoidance alternative. (2) Zion Primative Baptist Church Cemetery: The cemetery is on the NW concern of the church property and abutted Sugar Creek Road. Though not protected by law, the goal was to avoid or minimize impacts to the cemetery. There were unmarked graves in the cemetery very close to the existing r/w. Remote sensing and other archaeological methods to identify grave sites. Minimizing impacts to the cemetery and church property necessitated the large retaining wall structure. There was a small group meeting conducted at the church, specifically to hear and address their concerns. Also, a workshop and a public hearing was conducted. (3) Bridge vertical and horizontal clearance requirements: The bridge was required to span the NCRR corridor. The corridor has two mainline tracks and there are plans to add 1 to 2 tracks for intercity passenger rail. The bridge also had to accommodate the two Blue Line tracks and the required spacing b/n the LRT tracks and the freight tracks. The bridges also had to provide enough clearance for double-stack containers and catenary-----just in case future SEC trains are electrified. These requirements and the design standards prevented designers from getting the road back down for an at-grade intersection with Raleigh Street. Raising Raleigh Street was evaluated----but would have required retaining walls on all four quadrants of the intersection----and would also impact the National Register-eligible warehouses. Thus, this alternative was eliminated. The decision was made to span Raleigh Boulevard and construct a new connect between----an extension of Goldsboro Street. Connecting Redwood and Bearwood was considered. However, Howie Acres Community Park is also protected by Section 4(f). Other connections between the two streets were considered, but would have required demolishing homes within the Howie Acres Community to accommodate the new roadway. Thus, Bearwood was extended westward to connect with Davidson, providing residents of Bearwood an outlet similar to what they currently have. This required the bridge to be extended over Bearwood.