Cincinnati Bulk Terminals awarded CRISI grant

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has selected 50 projects in 29 states to receive competitive grant funding under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program.  The projects selected include a wide variety of railroad investments that improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of freight and intercity passenger service.

Ohio – Enhancing Safe and Efficient Freight Rail/Barge Modal Connections (Opportunity Zone) Up to $1,235,500
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments

Constructs an overhead, bi-directional, enclosed conveyer system to transport bulk materials from the Cincinnati Bulk Terminals inland marine port to the Central Railroad of Indiana, located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The overhead conveyer belt would remove over 46,000 annual truck trips (approximately 0.3 miles each way) across a commuter arterial road in Cincinnati between the port and the railyard.

A full list of CRISI awards can be found here: https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2020-09/FY20%20CRISI%20Project%20Listing%20for%20Press%20Release_FINAL.pdf

The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act authorized the CRISI Program to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of intercity passenger and freight rail systems. Rural projects, which have a minimum 25 percent funding requirement under the CRISI Program, received over 60 percent of the funds. Of the 50 projects that were awarded grants, 32 are located in Opportunity Zones, which were created to revitalize economically distressed communities using private investments. Since 2017, this Administration has awarded over $1.2 billion through the CRISI program to improve rail infrastructure.