The North Carolina Department of Transportation recently began a series of construction projects as part of a high-performance passenger rail line that seeks to improve train service between rural and urban communities in the Mid-Atlantic region.
[Above photo by NCDOT]
As part of the S-Line project, NCDOT and contractor crews began work on a three-year, $27 million grade separation project at New Hope Church Road in Raleigh; a project that includes construction of a bridge over the railroad to replace the existing at-grade crossing.
Similar work is happening at Durant Road in North Raleigh, where construction began in 2024. NCDOT said crews have already completed work on the roadway embankments to the proposed bridge and construction of the bridge will begin this summer.
Other work happening in the area includes acquiring necessary land for grade separations at Millbrook Road in Raleigh and Rogers Road in Wake Forest, with utility work now underway at both locations, the agency said.
“This project is a game changer for those who travel along the East Coast corridor – once complete, the service will save over an hour of travel time between Raleigh and Richmond,” said Daniel Johnson, NCDOT secretary, in a statement.
“The continued advancement on this important project would not be possible without our partners working together, including the Federal Railroad Administration, CSX, Amtrak, the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority, and NCDOT Rail and Highway Divisions,” he added.
NCDOT noted that the S-Line project will create a much faster and more frequent passenger rail service between North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and the Northeast.
The agency added that it received a $1.09 billion federal grant in December 2023 to construct the first segment of the S-Line from Raleigh to Wake Forest along with a $58 million design engineering grant for the entire 162-mile rail corridor between Raleigh, NC, and Richmond, VA.
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