MnDOT awards $4.5M for five Minnesota freight-rail projects

Minnesota freight-rail grants totaling nearly $4.5 million have been awarded. The Minnesota Department of Transportation made the awards. The five improvement projects support economic development.

Minnesota freight-rail grants and program funding

A MnDOT press release says the funding comes from the Minnesota Rail Service Improvement Program. Since 2017, the program has helped fund 21 freight infrastructure projects with $28.6 million. The latest awards cover new rail service, loading infrastructure, track upgrades and a terminal extension.

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Five selected freight-rail projects

The five selected projects include a $1 million award for JMJ Properties. The money will establish rail service at an industrial facility in Staples. It also will help install 13,500 feet of new track for granite transport.

Denco II LLC also received $1 million. The grant will fund a new rail siding with switches in Morris. It also covers a rail-car loading area. The work will connect the facility to a BNSF Railway mainline. That will enable onsite loading and shipment of ethanol by rail.

Lake Agassiz Bean LLC was awarded $900,000 for work in Euclid. The project includes a mainline turnout and 2,487 feet of new track. It also includes new safety equipment and a concrete loading area. That work will allow product to be loaded directly into rail cars on site.

Cloquet Terminal Railroad Co. Inc. received $840,000 to upgrade 2,500 feet of aging track. The grant also covers renewal of two switch points on the railroad’s mainline in Cloquet.

Minnesota Northern Railroad received $750,000 to extend its terminal into the Crookston Industrial Park. The project includes more than 2,600 feet of new track. It also adds a switch to existing track and a new turnout.

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