In the News

$10.5M grant to aid in Arkansas rail line's restoration

By ADG

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Transportation is awarding a $10.5 million grant to help pay for the Southeast Arkansas and Northeast Louisiana Multimodal Freight Corridor Improvement Project, officials from both states announced earlier this month.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao called U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., on Monday to personally deliver the news.

The federal funds will speed up efforts to restore a roughly 100-mile-long corridor, stretching from McGehee in southeast Arkansas to Tallulah, La.

The goal is faster and more affordable shipment for crops, fertilizers and other materials.

Twenty miles south of the state line, the train cars can be routed to the Port of Lake Providence or they can continue to the Madison Parish Port, 25 miles or so farther down the tracks.

A rail connecting the line to the Yellow Bend Port near Arkansas City is also envisioned.

A document detailing the project describes it as "a unique public-private partnership" involving a state agency, three public ports and two private short-line railroads. The area that will benefit is "one of the most severely economically distressed regions of the U.S.," it adds.

More than 40 politicians, government agencies and businesses had signed letters of support, urging federal backing for the effort.

The new funding will come from the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program, which awarded $1.5 billion for 26 projects in 2018.

The deadline for the latest round of grants was March 4.

At least 25% of the funds are set aside for projects in rural areas.

Private companies and state and local entities have also helped with funding.

Fixing those north-south train tracks will mean greater business opportunities for Arkansas' Mississippi River Delta communities, supporters say.

The east-west tracks are already in good shape, according to Patrecia Hargrove, director of development and project oversight for the Southeast Arkansas Economic Development District in Pine Bluff.

"We're connected on the north with Union Pacific in McGehee and in the south with Kansas City Southern. So the ports that are along that section of rail will have access to those two pieces of transportation to get their products and their resources [shipped] at a much cheaper rate. Getting that rail back up and going would be very instrumental or helpful economically for that area," she said.

The project had the backing of several lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Dardanelle and U.S. Reps. Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs and Rick Crawford of Jonesboro -- all Republicans.

Crawford, whose district includes Desha and Chicot counties in the state's southeast corner, called the grant "a very important step to help improve economic quality of life."

"That is really kind of a game changer," he said in an interview.

In a written statement, Boozman said the Southeast Arkansas and Northeast Louisiana Multimodal Freight Corridor is "the type of project that could serve as a national model for how smart infrastructure investments can spur results and drive lasting benefits for economies in rural America."

The rail line traces its roots to 1878, when the Memphis, Helena and Louisiana Railroad built it.

A new town, McGehee, quickly sprung up around it.

"Years ago, that rail was very important to the commerce of that area," Hargrove said.

For most of the 20th century, the line was owned by the Missouri Pacific Railroad, which merged with Union Pacific Railroad in 1982.

In 1988, it was sold to the Delta Southern Railroad, according to a history posted on the Union Pacific website.

Early in this century, the company's owners at the time filed to abandon the line.

Area officials feared that it would vanish altogether.

"Once you pull up railroad track, you can't put it back down. It would be pretty expensive," Hargrove said. "So in an effort to save that track, a group ... came together and purchased sections of that track all the way through Louisiana, in order to save that section of rail."

Once the track had been purchased, officials looked for ways to restore it to its former glory.

These days, it's slow-going on the north-south line.

On most days, the average McGehee resident moves faster than the typical Louisiana-bound train.

"Our train speed, we average about 2.5 mph," said Daniel Robbins, vice president of sales and marketing for the North Louisiana and Arkansas Railroad.

Arkansas Short Line Railroads, the parent company that owns the line and three other short-line railroads in the state, is based in Russellville.

Asked why the trains move so slowly, Robbins said, "Because the track's that bad."

The grant proposal included pictures of train derailments. One, on Jan. 26, 10 miles north of Lake Village. Another, on Feb. 4, 4 miles north of Lake Village.

Robbins estimated that public and private entities have already invested $20 million to save and restore the line. The $10.5 million grant will give the project a substantial boost, he said.

When the work is complete, trains will be able to move 10 times as fast on the line -- 25 mph instead of 2.5, Robbins said.

Faster transportation, it is hoped, will lead to better economic growth.

Unlike many Delta communities, McGehee grew throughout most of the 20th century, with its population reaching 5,671 in 1980. Since then, its numbers have fallen, with the population slipping to 4,219 in 2010. The trend has continued since then; it dropped to 3,734 in 2018, according to U.S. census estimates.

The population drain is a concern, Robbins acknowledged.

The rail line can help revive the area, supporters say.

The project's boosters want to do "everything we can to attract stable, good-paying jobs for the folks in the region," he said. "We don't want them to pick up and move someplace else. We want them to stay home."