Transportation Board Awards $200,000 for Preliminary Stages of Greenville Rail Improvemens

RALEIGH — The N.C. Board of Transportation has awarded a total of $200,000 for preliminary engineering of two Greenville rail improvement projects — the Greenville Connector and the Greenville Rail Yard. Each project was awarded $100,000 at the board’s monthly meeting Jan. 10.

The projects aim to help alleviate traffic congestion at the Arlington Boulevard, Howell Street and 14th Street crossings in downtown Greenville. The Greenville Connector project involves joining the CSX line with the Carolina Coastal line, which will improve rail flow and movement of freight as well as decrease motorist delays at these crossings. The Greenville Rail Yard project will create a new rail yard north of N.C. 903 for use by CSX to help eliminate the blockage of crossings and improve the movement of freight through downtown Greenville.

“These projects will help address the congestion we’ve been seeing at rail crossings on Arlington Boulevard and downtown Greenville,” said board member Marvin Blount III of Greenville who represents Highway Division 2, which includes Pitt County. “The funding will also be used to improve freight movement and the overall efficiency of the system.”