Representatives Jerry Stern and Larry O. Sather announced $1.7 million to fix the Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad. This track runs between Lock Haven, Milesburg and Tyrone.
“The railroad is in need of repair and modernization, and this money will make it happen,” said Rep. Stern.
The money will be used to fix the railroad and make it safer. This will bring a boost to the economy of Tyrone and surrounding areas.
“The existing rail is worn out,” said David Keith, superintendent of track maintenance for North Shore Railroad.
George Fury, administrator of Maintenance of Way for North Shore Railroad, said, “The biggest improvement is safety in the area. This will eliminate a lot of track conditions that are less than optimal.
“All of the credit of this goes to Jeff Stover, executive director of SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority,”
Fury added. “He submitted a rail project as a capital budget item, and it was approved.”
The total approved budget is for $3.15 million, so the renovation to the Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad is only the beginning. With more funding, more local rail road tracks will be repaired.
Fury is already looking ahead and said, “We would like to change out the rest of the older rail from Port Matilda to Lock Haven.”
For now, the project on the Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad between Lock Haven, Milesburg and Tyrone is slated to start in a couple of months. The work to fix the railroad will be bid out to contractors.
In total, The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s (PENNDOT) Bureau of Rail Freight, Ports and Waterways is disbursing more than $6.3 million in state capital budget funds to help finance needed infrastructure repairs on nine rail-freight projects across the Commonwealth.
Stern noted that Pennsylvania leads the nation with 70 operating railroads.
“Rail Freight operations are essential to the economy of Pennsylvania, so making much needed improvements to this rail line was imperative,” added Rep. Sather.
