The rehabilitation of 17-1/2 miles of the state-owned freight rail line from Massey to Worton in Kent County, Maryland, is well underway, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) announced last week. The $1.5 million project began in mid-September and is scheduled for completion in early May 2010. The agency said that 40% of the work was complete as of the end of November.
The project, which was awarded to Bullock Construction of Easton, Md., includes the replacement of rail and more than 6,000 railroad ties as well as the installation of new ballast.
The line is leased by the state to the Maryland & Delaware Railroad, which carries lumber, soy meal, corn, wheat and barley, and dry fertilizer supporting the poultry industry on the state's Eastern Shore.