Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board recently approved a $450,000 Rail Industrial Access Grant through the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation’s (DRPT) Rail Industrial Access Grant program.
The grant, awarded to Norfolk Terminal, will be used to construct a new rail yard at an expanding facility.
“The Rail Industrial Access program is an important tool to support Virginia’s efforts to attract jobs that have access to the Commonwealth’s multimodal transportation assets,” Jennifer Mitchell, DRPT director, said. “We are proud to partner with Norfolk Terminal, LP, on this expansion to increase the company’s rail capacity to the Virginia Port while hiring local talent.”
Norfolk Terminal will build 10,815-foot rail siding that is expected to avoid approximately 10,200 trucks on the state’s highways annually. This is phase one of the expansion project.
The project will improve rail access for the company while increasing Port of Virginia exports and is part of a $61 million investment to receive, store, package, and ship products through the port. Phase one is expected to create 31 jobs.
The board also approved the policy for the Implementation of the Transit Ridership Incentive Program, which permits DRPT to solicit applications for fiscal year 2022 funding.