Transcript Document

The CSX Railroad Relocation and EastWest Transportation Corridor Study
US DOT RITA Briefing Presentation
Mississippi State University
Chuck O’Hara
January 12, 2006
Mississippi Gulf Coast Assessment
The Gulf Coast includes dense urban areas intermixed with
designated natural areas, which serves to limit, guide, and
even constrain development
within the area.
Coastal Changes and Strained
Transportation Infrastructure
Over the past 30 years, considerable changes in land
use, population, and demographics have affected
socio-economic and environmental conditions as well
as wildlife habitat. During that 30-year time frame
Interstate 10 (I-10) was completed and the coastal
communities have evolved from small fishing
communities (with a total population of around 240,000
in 1970) to a complex mixture of residential,
commercial, industrial, and resort areas. A dramatic
50% increase in population and associated
urbanization has resulted in a strained transportation
infrastructure.
Railroad Relocation and New East
West Corridor Study
The CSX Relocation EIS was funded by congress and initiated not only to
study the relocation of the CSX, but also with the significant purpose of
providing a new east-west highway along the Mississippi Gulf Coast by
relocating the existing railroad right-of-way out of populated areas,
business districts, and tourism locations along the coastline.
Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for
Fiscal Year 2001 (P. L. 106-554)
Sec. 1109. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in addition to
funds otherwise appropriated in this or any other Act for fiscal year 2001,
$4,000,000 is hereby appropriated from the Highway Trust Fund for
Commercial Remote Sensing Products and Spatial Information
Technologies under Section 5113 of Public Law 105-178, as amended:
Provided, That such funds are used to study the creation of a new
highway right of way south of I-10 along the Mississippi Gulf Coast by
relocating the existing railroad right of way out of downtown areas.
CSX Relocation EIS
A project was undertaken (DMJM+Harris
Notice to Proceed: 11/26/2002) in the coastal
counties of Jackson, Hancock, and Harrison in
Mississippi to assess relocating segments of
the existing CSX railroad out of populated
areas.
Reasons for Relocating CSX
Anticipated benefits include the following:
• Improved railroad operation on a faster, safer route
• Improved highway safety through elimination of grade
crossings
• Elimination of traffic delays caused by train movements
• Removal of hazardous rail shipments from densely populated
areas
• Separation of passenger and freight rail traffic and potential
development of a dedicated high-speed rail line
Railroad Grade Crossing Incidents
160 at-grade rail-highway grade crossings in
Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties
78 incidents reported during the five-year period from
1997 through 2001
• 14 at crossings with crossbucks only
• 28 at crossings with stop signs
• 24 at crossings with flashing lights
• 12 at crossings with automatic gates
Railroad Grade Crossing Incidents
(1997-2001)
Mississippi Gulf Coast
Railroad Relocation
Study and
Environmental Impact
Statement
August 28, 2003
Mississippi State
DMJM+ Harris EIS Project Team
The EIS contractor team was charged with identifying
best feasible corridor(s) for relocation of the CSX
railroad in Mississippi and demonstrating the
application of remote sensing technologies to
environmental analysis for transportation planning
projects. At the onset of the project, it was the intent of
FHWA, MDOT, and the selected consulting team
conducting the EIS to take the best corridor alternates
forward to engineering design and for the preferred
corridor to obtain necessary environmental clearances
(based on EIS and Record of Decision).
DMJM + Harris Proposed
Planning Approach
Start
Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS)
Evaluate Impacts &
Modify Alternates
Develop Draft
Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS)
Initial Consultation
with Resource Agencies
Initial Consultation
with Local Governments
Present Findings at
Public Meeting #2
Public
Hearing
Public
Meeting #1
Line and Grade
for 2 Alternatives
Final EIS
Develop
Alignment
Alternates
Public
Meeting #3
Record of Decision
Cost Development with
3 Test Corridors
Build-out Cost per Mile
per Test Corridor
Cost Per Mile
Total Cost
Corridor 1
$36 million
$2.7 billion
Corridor 2
$23 million
$1.8 billion
Corridor 3
$23 million
$ 2.4 billion
Preliminary Alternates
Alt D-1 / D-2
Alt C1
Alt B-1
Alt A1
Alt B-1
Alt A1
Build-out Cost per Mile
per Alternate
* In miles
Alternate (distance*)
Cost Per Mile
Total Cost
Alternate A-1 (73)
$36 million
$2.7 billion
Alternate B-1 (80)
$23 million
$1.8 billion
Alternate C-1 (83)
$23 million
$ 1.9 billion
Alternate D-1 (97)
$23 million
$ 2.2 billion
Alternate D-2 (106)
$23 million
$ 2.4 billion
Project Completion Issues
Using remote sensing and spatial information
technologies allowed the consulting team to
arrive at initial estimates within about 10
months of time after the project’s onset.
Unfortunately, the initial estimates indicated
that relocation costs exceeded the projected
funds available, human and environmental
impacts were considered high, and public
dissatisfaction was high for CSX relocation.
Stop Work and Change Strategies
Due to cost estimates, high estimated impacts, and
public concerns a decision was made to stop work
(September 19, 2003) on the CSX relocation EIS and
revisit the economic feasibility of the effort while at the
same time conferring with neighboring states to arrive
at MOU’s that would allow the logical termini of the
relocated railroad to be taken to other locations that the
current areas; thereby changing the scope of the
potential effort.
Economic Feasibility Study Results
The study was
completed and
delivered in
September, 2005. A
new route for the
CSX was studied,
costs were
estimated at 1.7
billion dollars, and
results indicated
positive benefit/cost
aspects.
The study proposed a new route for the CSX shown in blue and abandoned
the current CSX shown in yellow along the Mississippi Gulf Coast
Post Katrina Considerations
Shortly after the economic feasibility study was
delivered Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast and
significantly damaged much of the critical transportation
infrastructure in the area. In the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina, it is possible that the CSX Railroad will make a
business decision to implement a change in its
operational routing that will take the rail traffic that
previously traversed the Mississippi coast along a
different route that might run from Mobile, AL. to
Hattiesburg, MS. to Baton Rogue and/or New Orleans,
LA.
Project Completion Opportunity
The potential change in operational routing
would make the current CSX railroad right-ofway open to consideration for a new East-West
transportation corridor and the focus of the study
could shift to consider the development of a new
East-West coastal corridor for Mississippi that
could supplement the capacity of US90, much of
which lies in areas highly subject to storm surge
inundation as evidenced by Hurricane Katrina.
Critical Project Components
To implement this new strategy for changing a railroad right-of-way
study to consider an East-West transportation corridor it is important
to include close coordination among all modes and transportation
agencies involved. Additionally, the design and deployment of
appropriate research components is vital to ensure the effective
demonstration of the value of commercial remote sensing and spatial
information (RSSI) technologies in transportation corridor planning
and related environmental analyses. The redesigned project provides
an opportunity to develop highly transferable results of nationally
significance that emphasize deployable technologies that integrate
remote sensing, GIS, PNT, and ITS technologies in transportation
corridor planning.