{"id":15820,"date":"2024-02-28T13:36:53","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T03:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=15820"},"modified":"2024-02-28T13:36:53","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T03:36:53","slug":"amtrak-officials-issue-update-on-frederick-douglass-tunnel-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=15820","title":{"rendered":"Amtrak officials issue update on Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amtrak<\/a> Assistant Vice President, Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program, Luigi Rosa & Senior Director, Community Engagement, Danelle Hunter have issued a statement on the Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program:<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the largest transportation infrastructure investments on the East Coast has begun demolition in Baltimore. Amtrak\u2019s<\/a> $6 billion Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program has entered a new phase, along with major construction activities set to begin later this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past decade, Amtrak<\/a> and our state and federal partners at the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)<\/a> and Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA)<\/a> have conducted hundreds of outreach engagements with residents and community organizations to guide program development, share updates, and discuss future activities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, as the construction and community engagement leaders for this critical infrastructure investment, we\u2019re continuing our commitment to consistent and transparent community updates with a preview of the program\u2019s next steps and opportunities to stay informed throughout construction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMany Baltimoreans are familiar with the Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program, which has been developed, reviewed and refined over the years. This transformative transportation investment is funded in large part by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, thanks to President Joe Biden, Senator Ben Cardin, Senator Chris Van Hollen, Representative Kweisi Mfume and others in Congress, along with support from other elected officials including Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe overall program will modernise and transform a 10-mile section of the Northeast Corridor, America\u2019s busiest passenger railroad. It will unlock the biggest rail bottleneck between Washington, D.C. and New Jersey, improving reliability and travel times for millions of people while also upgrading local infrastructure in the West Baltimore area, like replacing the Edmondson and Lafayette Street Bridges.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe centerpiece is a new tunnel named after civil rights leader and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, a Maryland native. We\u2019re also building a new ADA-accessible West Baltimore MARC station, five new roadway and railroad bridges, new rail infrastructure (modern tracks, new catenary wires for electric power, etc.) and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother important aspect includes creating thousands of local, good paying construction jobs that will provide opportunities to economically disadvantaged communities in the project area, thanks to local hire agreements and training investments. And Amtrak<\/a> has committed $50 million specifically for a Community Investment Program that will fund projects in six dedicated categories, including community and workforce development, parks and recreation, and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo local small businesses have mobilised crews and equipment and begun demolition for the first of 47 residential and commercial properties that have been acquired by Amtrak<\/a>. The contractors are experienced in performing demolition work and familiar with all applicable rules and regulations in Baltimore City. They will also install fencing lined with screening fabric around each site. Each contractor has a detailed work plan, including how adjacent properties will be protected during this process.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough the demolition work has been thoughtfully planned and coordinated, there is always the possibility of an unexpected concern that may arise. We encourage community members to reach out with questions or concerns by emailing FDTunnel@Amtrak.com<\/a> or calling the project team at (443) 423-1115.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have also awarded major construction contracts for the new tunnel\u00a0and the \u201cSouthern Approach,\u201d which includes building the previously mentioned new rail infrastructure that will be located south of the new tunnel. We expect major construction to begin later this year, likely in the summer timeframe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo keep community members informed about demolition activities and other upcoming major construction, we will be hosting bimonthly meetings throughout 2024, at various locations along the program corridor. The first bimonthly meeting will take place on March 13 at Carver Vocational-Technical High School.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will also be a separate Community Open House this Thursday, February 29, at Mary Ann Winterling Elementary School, where residents are encouraged to provide a public comments on exterior designs for noise barriers and the Southern Ventilation Facility. To learn more, download the flyer\u00a0or\u00a0register here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo stay up to date on the latest program information, we encourage you to sign up for the program newsletter, visit\u00a0Amtrak.com\/FDTunnel<\/a>, or invite us to speak at an upcoming event in your neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate your patience as we begin this important work and look forward to seeing you at a future meeting!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

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Amtrak Assistant Vice President, Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program, Luigi Rosa & Senior Director, Community Engagement, Danelle Hunter have issued a statement on the Frederick Douglass […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":15821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,47,488],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-opinion","category-rail-news","category-railway-stations"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}