State may build rail line in northeast Charlotte (Charlotte Observer)
State transportation officials will hold a public meeting tonight at University Meadows Elementary School to discuss changes that could speed rail travel between Charlotte and Raleigh, but also cause the closing of several crossings in northeast Charlotte and the Harrisburg area.
The N.C. Department of Transportation is considering building a second rail line next to the existing N.C. Railroad-Norfolk Southern Line. The new track would run from near Orr Road in northeast Charlotte to just south of N.C. 49 in Concord.
It is part of a bigger project that would include a new track farther north in North Carolina, to speed rail travel. That project, the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor, is designed to provide much faster passenger and freight service between Charlotte and Washington.
Part of the project involves improving train safety, and planners say that would require closing some public and private crossings.
Other proposals include improvements to crossings in the Orr Road/Newell-Hickory Grove Road area in Charlotte, and on Caldwell and Pharr roads in Cabarrus County. Crossing and intersection improvements at Robinson Church Road in northeast Charlotte also are being considered.
However, planners also have proposed closing several crossings, including Pharr Mill, Shamrock and Hickory Ridge roads near Harrisburg, and Newell-Hickory Grove and Orr roads in Charlotte.
“At this point, nothing is set,” said Tim Gibbs of Charlotte’s transportation department. “What we have now are proposals.”
The proposals have set off concerns, however, among some Harrisburg-area residents, who say closing intersections would cause problems for residents who would have to travel farther for shopping and other trips.
By Steve Lyttle
slyttle@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010
