The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that the Texas Department of Transportation has received a USD 7 million federal grant to help rebuild the Presidio-Ojinaga International Rail Bridge and 116 km of track on the state-owned South Orient Rail Line that runs from the border to near Coleman, Texas.
The South Orient Rail Line is a 630 km line running from the Texas-Mexico border at Presidio through San Angelo to just south of Coleman. The grant will be part of a public and private partnership to replace the international bridge that was damaged by fire in 2008 and has remained closed since then, blocking one of only seven rail gateways between the United States and Mexico.
In addition to the Presidio-Ojinaga bridge reconstruction, the awarded grant funding will help provide for track, bridge and drainage improvements on 72 miles of railroad from the border to Alpine, Texas. The line is owned by the state of Texas but maintained and operated by Texas Pacifico Transportation, Ltd. under a lease with TxDOT. The total reconstruction and rehabilitation project is estimated at USD 16.2 million.
“The South Orient Railroad has become an increasingly important freight line for the agriculture and oil and gas industries in West Texas. With the replacement of the rail bridge at Presidio, the improvements to the track, bridges and crossings will allow enhanced freight opportunities for communities in Texas and between Texas and Mexico, with greater efficiency and safety,” Texas Transportation Commission Chairman Tryon Lewis said.
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