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CSX Virginia Avenue Tunnel Expansion and Renewal Project


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#1 CNJRoss

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Posted 20 May 2011 - 08:53 AM

Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch, 5/19:

CSX investing $160 million to improve freight flow

CSX Corp., the second-largest publicly traded U.S. railroad, said it will invest $160 million to improve its ability to move freight from the Port of Virginia at Hampton Roads to the Midwest.

The improvements during the next several years will complete CSX's $860 million National Gateway project, creating a more efficient freight transportation link between the mid-Atlantic ports and the Midwest, CSX Regional Vice President Quintin Kendall told the Commonwealth Transportation Board on Wednesday.

CSX is timing the improvements to be able to carry the expected sharp increase in seaborne cargo moving through the state as a result of the Panama Canal's expansion in 2015, Kendall said.

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#2 CNJRoss

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Posted 20 May 2011 - 09:00 AM

The Examiner, Washington, DC edition, 5/20:

CSX pledges $160m more to expand Virginia Ave. tunnel
Project helps solve long-standing bottleneck for East Coast cargo


A century-old train tunnel in the District will be upgraded, after railroad company CSX pledged $160 million on Wednesday to help ease a major bottleneck that currently limits cargo passing through the Washington region.

The money means that the freight shipper can start a long-sought process to expand the Virginia Avenue Tunnel that runs from Second Street to 11th Street just below the Capitol in Southeast. The project will widen and increase the height of the tunnel so trains can carry a double-stacked load of shipping containers. The expanded tunnel also will have a second set of tracks to allow more than one train to pass through the area at a time.

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#3 CNJRoss

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Posted 28 November 2013 - 12:53 PM

Washington (DC) City Paper, 11/25:

Navy Yard: No New Tunnel, Please, We’re Residents

The densely populated Navy Yard neighborhood barely resembles the industrial district it was just a couple decades ago. But there is at least one major remnant of its past: The Virginia Avenue Tunnel, an operating rail track for freight trains that runs through the Navy Yard and Capitol Hill areas.

Now, the owners of the more than 100-year-old tunnel, CSX Transportation, want to widen and deepen it to allow for double-stacked freight trains and a second track for two-way traffic. The 4,000-foot tunnel is due for construction anyway, and having two-way operations would eliminate a traffic choke point there.

But neighborhood residents are taking a hard line against the construction project, expected to last more than three years, fearing the environmental and safety hazards it would pose to the residential community.

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#4 KevinKorell

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Posted 28 November 2013 - 01:17 PM

Well this invokes mixed feelings. A true NIMBY, somebody who bought property near a rail line (whether active or not) and then doesn't want trains to travel on it really has no excuse. But did they know there was a rail tunnel underneath their neighborhood? I haven't been there to see it, but from what I can see from a satellite view, it appears to be fully submerged under about a 13-block area. I guess that makes the residents NUMBY's (not UNDER my back yard). And there is a far more obvious visual intrusion, an elevated freeway (I-695). The air and noise pollution coming off that thing should be of more concern than trains passing underneath the ground. As for the need to increase tunnel size & capacity, can they build a parallel tunnel as a bore rather than cut-and-cover, or would that be too dangerous to existing freight and freeway traffic? It looks like the freeway's footprint may be directly over the existing rail tunnel in places.


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#5 KevinKorell

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Posted 17 February 2014 - 12:37 AM

Washington, DC Post, 2/16/14:

Plan to retrofit old rail tunnel hard to execute in changing SE Washington neighborhood


The brick floor of the Virginia Avenue tunnel has worn away. Water saturation has undermined the ground beneath the track ballast. Its relatively small size makes it a tight squeeze for modern trains.

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#6 KevinKorell

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Posted 30 April 2014 - 01:14 AM

This saga continues. From the Washington, DC Post, 4/29/14:

D.C. Council to weigh on plan to retrofit old rail tunnel in SE Washington


The D.C. Council will hold a public hearing Wednesday morning on a controversial proposal to rebuild the Virginia Avenue Tunnel in Southeast Washington.


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#7 CNJRoss

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Posted 13 June 2014 - 01:04 PM

CSX news release, 6/13:
[quote]
CSX Applauds Release of Final Environmental Impact Statement for Virginia Avenue Tunnel Reconstruction Project
Path Forward Incorporates Community Feedback and Addresses Concerns


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - June 13, 2014 - CSX applauds the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) for advancing the reconstruction of CSX's Virginia Avenue Tunnel in a way that responds to community concerns in the project's design and construction plan. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) issued today by FHWA and DDOT identifies the preferred alternative for construction, "Alternative 3 - Two New Tunnels." Specific details of the alternative are available via a FHWA/DDOT fact sheet at www.virginiaavenuetunnel.com.

CSX is proposing to spend hundreds of millions of company dollars to reconstruct this 110-year old tunnel, to move people and goods more efficiently for the benefit of commuters and businesses in the District and throughout the region. The release of the FEIS is a critical step forward to modernize the country's aging infrastructure in a way that promotes the safety and well-being of local neighbors.

"The preferred alternative is the direct result of years of community input during the environmental review process. It addresses community concerns and prioritizes neighborhood safety and security during construction. Under this plan, construction is expected to take approximately 30 to 42 months and trains will run in an enclosed tunnel in front of residences," said Louis Renjel, vice president, strategic infrastructure initiatives. "Today's announcement means CSX and the Virginia Avenue community can focus our ongoing discussions on a single potential construction plan, discuss the potential impacts of that plan, and share information about the many things CSX would do to minimize those impacts."

CSX's efforts to minimize the impact of construction would include actions that would be naturally a part of the construction plan; additional actions CSX would take during construction to minimize impacts; and actions CSX would take after construction to help enhance the Virginia Avenue neighborhood.

"CSX has a strong track record of working in a way that respects our neighbors. We look forward to continuing to talk with the Virginia Avenue community and public officials as we fulfill our commitments: to make safety our top priority during and after construction; to minimize the impacts of construction on local residents and businesses; and to collaborate with the community on enhancements that help make a great neighborhood even better," said Renjel.

Under the preferred alternative construction plan, CSX would be required to take certain actions to reduce the impact from construction, including:

* Limiting construction hours;
* Controlling dust at the construction site to maintain air quality;
* Reducing construction noise and vibration by creating physical barriers, choosing less noisy construction techniques, and doing noise and vibration monitoring;
* Working with District Department of Transportation to monitor and maintain traffic flow around the construction site as necessary to reduce impact;
* Providing compensation to the residents who are impacted the most - the residents directly next to the project - and to Virginia Avenue Tunnel neighborhood organizations, to minimize construction impacts as the residents and organizations choose.

CSX would also make enhancements to the new streetscape to complement the other development in the neighborhood. That effort would include reconstructing Virginia Avenue and other affected areas, including Virginia Avenue Park and the Marine Corps Recreation Facility, to a standard higher than before construction. In addition, the FEIS requires significant actions and investments by CSX, including:

* Improving access to Garfield Park for wheelchair-dependent individuals;
* Building a continuous bike path between 2nd and 9th Streets connecting Garfield Park and Virginia Avenue Park;
* Straightening the alignment of Virginia Avenue SE within the 400 block to be consistent with the original L'Enfant Plan;
* Improving the traffic lane configuration between 5th/6th and 8th Streets to provide safer and calmer traffic conditions; and
* Installing landscaping and improved street lighting, traffic signals and crosswalks.

The FEIS is available for review for 30 days before an official decision is released, and can be downloaded from www.virginiaavenuetunnel.com. A public meeting will also be held on July 1, 2014, at the Capitol Skyline Hotel, 10 Eye Street SW, Washington, DC 20024. The meeting will include a presentation on the details about construction and will include a brief time to ask questions of the project team.

#8 CNJRoss

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Posted 17 June 2014 - 12:01 PM

The Washington Post, 6/14:

After delays, plan to rebuild CSX Virginia Ave. tunnel in Southeast D.C. moves forward

proposal to rebuild the Virginia Avenue tunnel in Southeast Washington, which officials say is needed for safety reasons and to meet East Coast rail needs, appears to be moving forward after years of delays.

The District Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration on Friday released a final environmental impact statement on the project, laying out a preferred construction process that the agencies say balances CSX Transportation’s need to reconstruct the 110-year-old single-track tunnel and neighbors’ concerns.

The project has become one of the District’s most hotly debated proposals. An entire community in Southeast is fighting it, with some elected officials also raising concerns about rail safety and the risk of having freight trains passing through residential neighborhoods and the seat of the federal government.

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#9 CNJRoss

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Posted 17 June 2014 - 12:03 PM

The Washington Post, 6/16:

Letters to the Editor
CSX railroad plan is a trainwreck waiting to happen

I’m a Virginia Avenue resident on the front lines of CSX’s proposed expansion of the Virginia Avenue tunnel [“Plan to rebuild CSX railroad tunnel in SE chugs ahead,” Metro, June 14]. My neighbors and I are not the only ones who are worried. The final environmental impact statement, issued by an obsolete city administration, brushes aside critical rail safety, security and infrastructure developments.

Mayors and cities across North America are fighting to protect residents from the exponentially increasing problem of “bomb trains.” They are pushing for rail safety improvements and attempting regulation in, and rerouting around, highly populated areas. Meanwhile, the District and federal governments are on the verge of making the problem worse. Which is all the more remarkable, given the District’s post-9/11 efforts — defeated by CSX — to reroute the worst of the hazmats away from the monument core of the capital.

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#10 CNJRoss

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Posted 20 June 2014 - 04:07 PM

The Washington Post "Dr. Gridlock" blog, 6/19:

DDOT’s early commitment to CSX tunnel project in Southeast D.C. irks residents

Posted Image
CSX wants to add a second track and have the tunnel deep enough to accommodate double-stacked container freight trains.

Before the federal environmental process was completed on a proposal to rebuild a tunnel in Southeast Washington, the D.C. Department of Transportation had given the project’s applicant clearance to take over the road it needs for the construction, irking some opponents of the project.

DDOT issued an occupancy permit nearly two years ago guaranteeing CSX Transportation the right-of-way at Virginia Avenue SE, and adjacent roads, so the company could reconstruct the 110-year-old old tunnel that is underneath, according to documents in the final environmental statement released last week.

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