How a Pleasant Gap company will use a $250,000 rail grant from the state
A Pleasant Gap company received a quarter million dollar rail grant from the state aimed at increasing rail service near its facility.
Happy Valley Blended Products, located at 660 Axemann Road in Pleasant Gap, blends and ships various products, including specialty cements and grouts, cement additives and lime or lime byproduct.
The company will use the $250,000 PennDOT rail grant to construct an unloading pit and acquire unloading equipment to increase rail service at its location, according to a press release from the Governor’s Office. The Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad, a shortline that runs from Lock Haven to Tyrone with six stops in Centre County, runs through the company’s property and links to the Norfolk Southern railroad, which runs track in 22 eastern states.
“The grant will go toward some rail modifications which will improve our capacity and productivity,” said Happy Valley Blended Products co-owner Barry Gensimore.
By relying more on rail service, he said, the company will be able to cut down on inbound truck traffic to the plant. Every rail car replaces about four to five truckloads, he said.
Once rail service is increased, the bulk of that activity will go toward shipping environmental products like lime byproduct, he said.
The NBER is operated by North Shore Railroad Company and runs on track owned by the Susquehanna Economic Development Authority Council of Governments’ (SEDA-COG) Joint Rail Authority.
“Advancing rail freight projects will preserve, improve, and create additional services for the industries and customers,” said PennDOT Secretary Leslie Richards. “Governor Wolf and I are committed to ensuring economic competitiveness, improving safety, and strengthening the multimodal transportation system.”
Gov. Tom Wolf said in a press release that the rail grants awarded for rail freight improvement projects all over the state will help create and sustain 255 jobs.
This story was originally published May 2, 2019 at 5:13 PM.