National Gateway Coalition Applies for TIGER II Funding to Help Create Jobs and Support Nation's Economy
Washington, D.C. - August 23, 2010 - The District of Columbia Department of Transportation in partnership with the Governors of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina today requested $3 million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) II funds to finalize the pre-construction planning for completion of the National Gateway, an infrastructure initiative that will create a highly efficient and environmentally friendly freight rail corridor linking the Mid Atlantic and Midwest.
Already underway, the project will upgrade tracks, equipment and facilities to provide clearance for double stack intermodal trains. Double stack trains can carry twice as much cargo as single stack trains, driving significant environmental and efficiency benefits. When complete, the National Gateway will also improve the flow of goods between eastern and western rail networks.
The National Gateway is an $842 million investment in intermodal rail infrastructure. The requested $3 million from TIGER II would be put to work alongside $98 million in previously awarded federal funding, an expected $189 million from the states along the National Gateway, and $395 million of private money committed by CSX Corporation, one of the nation's leading transportation companies.
The National Gateway will create more than 50,000 jobs in its first 30 years of operation, with more than 10,000 jobs being created during the construction phase alone. Work is already underway on clearance projects between Northwest Ohio and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The requested TIGER II funding will help fund work on the remaining clearances between Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and Baltimore, Maryland, Hampton Roads, Virginia and Wilmington, North Carolina.
The National Gateway creates $22 in public benefits for each dollar of public funds invested and is supported by more than 70 public officials of both parties, including six governors, 39 Members of Congress and 28 state elected officials.
To learn more about the National Gateway, visit www.nationalgateway.org. Be sure to follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/Nat_Gateway) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/NationalGateway).
Contact:
National Gateway
Richard VanOrnum
617-752-1177