On Monday, 29th of November, state and federal officials started ground on a $466 million project to enlarge the Howard Street Tunnel to handle double-stacked container trains to and from the Baltimore Port.
The Baltimore project had been considered for years, with CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) on the verge of abandoning it due to cost estimates ranging from $1 billion to $4 billion. However, the assurance of federal and state money aided in the project’s progress. The project’s expenditures were reduced because of advancements in construction technology.
To facilitate double-stacked trains, the project will raise the vertical clearance at the Howard Street Tunnel and 21 additional points between Baltimore and Philadelphia. The tunnel will be reconstructed to offer an additional 18 inches of clearance, while three other Baltimore bridges, the North Avenue bridge, the Guilford Avenue bridge, and the Harford Road bridge, will be modified or replaced. Tracks will be lowered in Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania as well.
According to Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, the tunnel expansion will allow the Port of Baltimore to compete more successfully with other ports for containerized freight, calling it “an absolute game-changer, not just for Maryland, but for the entire region.” According to a press statement from Hogan’s office, four new mega-cranes arrived at the port in September in preparation to handle that load.
According to the financing split for the tunnel project, Maryland will contribute $205.5 million, $125 million from a federal infrastructure grant, $113 million from CSX, $22.5 million from Pennsylvania, and $3 million from the federal highway formula funding.
In 2025, the project is projected to be completed.
CSX President and CEO Jim Foote, Federal Railroad Administration Deputy Administrator Amit Bose, Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Secretary Greg Slater, and MDOT Maryland Port Administration Executive Director William P. Doyle were all present at the groundbreaking on Monday, November 29th.
“CSX is thrilled to break ground on the Howard Street Tunnel project and move forward on an effort made possible by the partnership of state, port, and federal partners,” said Foote in a statement. “This project will help improve freight transportation, expand freight rail capacity, and increase the intermodal connection between the markets we serve by modernizing our rail infrastructure in this vital corridor.” It will boost rail’s competitiveness against trucks, giving customers a sustainable choice and reducing traffic on highways.”
The more than 120-year-old tunnel isn’t tall enough to accommodate double-stacked intermodal containers. The tunnel’s reconstruction is part of CSX’s larger National Gateway plan to improve intermodal and carload operations along the East Coast. The National Gateway proposal also called for the Virginia Avenue Tunnel in Washington to be rebuilt so that double-stacked trains could pass through. In the fall of 2018, CSX finished the reconstruction of that tunnel.
