The CSX Railroad Relocation and East-West Transportation Corridor Study

US DOT RITA Briefing Presentation

Mississippi State University Chuck O’HaraJanuary 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.

• 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

Reasons for Relocating CSXAnticipated benefits include the following:

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

160 at-grade rail-highway grade crossings in Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties

Railroad Grade Crossing Incidents (1997-2001)

Mississippi Gulf Coast Railroad Relocation

Study and Environmental Impact

StatementAugust 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

Public Meeting #1

Develop Alignment Alternates

Line and Grade for 2 Alternatives

Record of Decision

Evaluate Impacts &Modify Alternates

Present Findings at Public Meeting #2

Public Hearing

Final EIS

Initial Consultation with Resource Agencies

Initial Consultation with Local Governments

Develop Draft Environmental Impact

Statement (DEIS)

StartEnvironmental Impact

Statement (DEIS)

Public Meeting #3

Cost Development with3 Test Corridors

Build-out Cost per Mile per Test Corridor

$ 2.4 billion$23 millionCorridor 3

$1.8 billion$23 millionCorridor 2

$2.7 billion$36 millionCorridor 1

Total CostCost Per Mile

Preliminary Alternates

Alt A-1

Alt B-1

Alt

D-1

Alt D-2 Alt D-1 / D-2

Alt B-1

Alt A-1

Alt C-1

Alt C-1 D

-1

Build-out Cost per Mile per Alternate

$ 1.9 billion$23 millionAlternate C-1 (83)

$1.8 billion$23 millionAlternate B-1 (80)

$2.7 billion$36 millionAlternate A-1 (73)

Total CostCost Per MileAlternate (distance*)

$ 2.2 billion$23 millionAlternate D-1 (97)

$ 2.4 billion$23 millionAlternate D-2 (106)

* In miles

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-of-way 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.