PA Asks Feds To Help Exand Rail Freight Corridor

Touting a study predicting increased congestion on Pennsylvania’s highways over the next two decades, Governor Ed Rendell called for more federal dollars to improve freight railway infrastructure.
Standing under the blazing sun in a Harrisburg rail yard, Governor Rendell predicted truck traffic will increase by 50 percent along Interstates 81 and 95 between now and 2030.
The governor says that stat, which comes from a new American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Study, underscores the need to invest in rail infrastructure.
He says Pennsylvania and four other states will apply for a 115 million dollar federal grant this month to expand the Crescent Corridor rail line, which would run from Louisiana to New York.
Rendell argues the freight line would create 26-thousand Pennsylvania jobs, and take trucks off the state’s highways.

"So the benefits from this project are not just economic. They’re not just jobs. They’re environmental. They have indirect benefits for Pennsylvania taxpayers. And they relieve congestion for all of us. The less trucks on the road, the less congested our roads are for a passenger traveling, as well."

Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia and North Carolina are joining Pennsylvania in the application.