b'SEPTEMBER 13 - 26, 2021INTERMODAL 15(REVISITINGcontinuedHeartland Corridor went into(truck to rail) because of the from page 11) operationandelevenyearscorridor? ensnare numerous state, fed- laterthereisstilldebateonWhilesomestudiessug-eral and city agencies, alongthe success of the project.gest this was the casesome withtheNorfolkSouthernCertainlytheprojectwastraffic did become intermodal Railroadwhosetrackscom- anundoubtedsuccessinfreighthow much would have prisetheCorridor.Howtoenabling an efficient (cuttingorganicallymovedtomulti-financesuchamultifaceted200 miles off the old route)modal platforms is a more dif-projectwassimplifiedintodouble stack rail connectionficult question to answer. The apublic-privatepartnershipbetween the Port of Virginiaproject has also helped frame (PPP)largelybetweenthe(andspecificallytheAPMmore esoteric questions, such FederalGovernmentandTerminal in Portsmouth, VA)as what is the minimum dis-Norfolk Southern.to Chicago and the Midwest.tance that an intermodal rail AttheheartoftheeffortSomehavearguedthatmove makes sense? Its easy was the actual Heartland Cen- Norfolk Southern didnt con- to understand a Norfolk move tralCorridorDouble-Stacktributeenoughtotheproj- to Chicago or Columbus but Clearance Project which costect(consideringrailroadare shorter hauls worthwhile $191.6 million with a $6.1 mil- wasarguablythemainben- and at what cost? lionextensiontoCincinnati.eficiary)andthatsomeofPerhaps the biggest legacy Inaddition,theRickenbackertheintermodalhubs(Westof the project is that it works. intermodal terminal in Colum- Virginia)didntattracttheThats to say, it created more bus,Ohioaddedanother$70freight that was anticipated inefficient access to the Midwest million.AndtheCommon- the proposed project.from an East Coast port. And wealthRailwayservingtheOtherargumentsonthewithinthecontextofmoving APM Terminal in Portsmouth,impactoftheprojectaregoodsthroughouttheconti-Virginia was relocated at a costmorecircumspect.Diditnent over the next half century, of$60million.TheFederalreallyrelievetrucktrafficintermodal is essential and the government granted $111 mil- congestiononthehighway?HeartlandCorridordemon-lion for tunnel clearances andDidfreightswitchmodesstrates that it works.Rickenbackerintermodalter-minalconstructionwasfrom federalstimulusfunds.The CommonwealthofVirginia providedanother$9million fortunnelclearances.Ohio RailDevelopmentCommis-sion(ORDC)contributed another $836,355 withNor-folkSouthernpickingup the rest of the tab. The U.S. Governmentfunded$3.6 millionforextensionunder theAmericanRecovery& Reinvestment Act 2009 with theremaining$2.5million providedbyNorfolkSouth-ern and the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Councils.e ngineering TheC orridorAmajorityoftheengi-neering challenge for the proj-ect lay on the main route. This sectionincluded28tunnels, sevenrailroadbridges,three overheadbridges,threerail-way signals and three sets of overheadwires.Theproject includedincreasingthever-ticalclearanceof28tunnels and 24 overhead obstructions intheAppalachianMoun-tainsbytwofeetabovethe headroomtoallowdouble-stack container freight trains. Amajorityofthetunnels were round shaped, as was.ON A WHOLE NEW SCALEcommon at the time of their originalconstruction.These, round shaped tunnels were cut into square shape to increase the wall corners of the tunnel.DOUBLES RAIL CAPACITY TOEight tunnels underwent linear notch work, 18 were replaced with new roofs and one day- 1 MILLION lighting tunnel was left as an openrooftunnel.Tunnels werealsomodifiedthroughCONTAINER LIFTS PER YEARroof excavation, liner replace-ment,archedroofnotch-ing,andtrackloweringand realignment.Anditwasnt just the height of the tunnelsEXTENDS REACHTO AMERICAN MIDWESTthat needed to be addressed as theverticalclearanceofthe bridgesatAshville,Lubeck,CUTS TRANSIT TIMES BY 24 HOURSGlenJeanandIrontonwere also increased.l egaCy oF Theh earTland MASONMEGARAIL.COMC orridor projeCTOn September 9, 2010 the'