NHS/Railway Corridors

A Proposal for Cost Effective Enhancements Of the Rural Transportation Infrastructure May 2002

I. Introduction

Tucked in the mountainous terrain of northern New England, Vermont has traditionally been home to rugged family farms, quarrying and manufacturing. And railroads. A major corridor connecting Boston, Montreal and Chicago, the western side of Vermont saw significant freight and passenger service from the mid 19th to mid 20th century. This traffic was channeled through switching yards in the cities of Rutland and Burlington.

Rail service declined in the 1950’s and 1960’s as national attention shifted to interstate highways. Passenger rail service to Rutland ceased in 1953, not to be renewed until Amtrak launched the Ethan Allen Express in 1996. The Rutland railyard was redeveloped into a shopping center, and what little switching activity continued was relegated to a cramped, makeshift yard tucked between a downtown factory and a residential neighborhood.

Today, use of rail is once again on the rise, both for freight and passengers. At the same time, redevelopment of Rutland’s older commercial and industrial districts is also under way. Unfortunately, the two strategies – expanded rail service and downtown redevelopment – are in direct conflict with each other geographically. In order for both to succeed, the rail yard must be moved.

Rutland’s problem is a common one, shared by many communities across the state and region. Despite the trend toward service businesses – especially, in Vermont, toward tourism and recreation - the need to maintain a diversified economy is widely acknowledged. Vermont’s challenge is simply defined: to redevelop a competitive industrial base while responding to the growing public interest in smart growth and environmental conservation.

Transportation is a major consideration. Western Vermont will never have an interstate highway. Construction costs are too high, environmental impacts too severe and the population base too small. Instead, the economic future of the region depends on the creative enhancement of the existing infrastructure.

The infrastructure in question consists of a rail line and US Route 7, a highway of the National Highway System (NHS). The two run parallel for 150 miles from Bennington in the south to the Canadian border in the north. The rights-of-way for both rail and highway have existed for many generations. Land use patterns in towns and cities along this route were originally determined by the presence of Rt. 7 and the rail line, so upgrading NHS/Railway Corridors

the existing routes will help to focus economic activity in traditional business centers.

This paper examines the dynamics of NHS/Railway Corridors, defined by the presence of an existing rail line and a highway of the National Highway System running parallel in an area not served by an interstate highway. They are intended to improve accessibility using infrastructure already in place, provide a cost effective transportation system, and minimize impacts on communities along the route. Movement of freight and passengers are shared between the highway and the rail line as opportunities present themselves in communities along the corridor, blending intermodal development with smart growth.

NHS/Railway Corridors are a cost effective, environmentally and socially responsible alternative to new highway construction in areas where construction of new highways is not feasible.

II. The Western Vermont Corridor

As a practical example of an NHS/Railway Corridor, this paper discusses the US Route 7/ Vermont Railway corridor in western Vermont, here referred to as the Western Vermont Corridor. Traversing Bennington, Rutland, Addison, Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, the corridor directly serves 334,257 Vermonters, 55 percent of the state’s population1. Both of the state’s largest incorporated cities – Burlington and Rutland – are situated along the route, as is the major retail center in Manchester.

A significant academic community is located in the corridor, including Bennington College, Castleton State College, Green Mountain College, Middlebury College, St. Michael’s College and University of Vermont. With parking always at a premium on campuses, these colleges see the opportunity to encourage students to arrive by train rather than bringing automobiles.

The Western Vermont Corridor is configured around several key projects:

• Amtrak service from Albany, NY to Burlington via Bennington and Rutland. • Relocation of the Rutland and Burlington switching yards to allow expanded downtown development. • A series of highway improvements along US Rt. 7, including major projects in Brandon and Pittsford, and in Rutland City and Rutland Town. • Construction of a rail spur in Middlebury to serve the calcium carbonate quarry and reduce truck traffic in Brandon and Pittsford.

1 US Census 2000 figures reported on FedStats’ online statistics clearinghouse, MapStats; www.fedstats.gov

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While these were initially pursued as individual projects, all share common themes and serve each other’s purposes. Specifically, all are located along the corridor defined by US Rt. 7 and the Vermont Railway line. All seek to improve existing infrastructure to offset the lack of interstate highway access. All seek to maximize creative redevelopment of traditional town centers and established industrial districts, serving the objectives of smart growth.

A closer look at the individual projects reveals their strategic importance.

Passenger Rail Service

While the interstate highways serve the eastern side of Vermont, most of the population centers are located in the west. Amtrak recently completed a study of alternatives for enhanced interstate passenger service2 and recommended a route running the length of the western side of the state, from Schenectady, NY serving Bennington, Manchester, Rutland, Middlebury and Burlington.

The population centers and tourist destinations in Western Vermont are particularly vulnerable to competitive challenges from areas served by interstate highways. As the state’s economy becomes increasingly dependent on tourism, ease of access becomes more important. A skier in New York City can board an airplane and be in Utah in five hours. Unless that customer can reach Vermont resorts in a comparable timeframe, the business will go to Utah. Further, as the state works to attract high tech, communication-driven businesses, travel time to the major regional markets becomes a key competitive issue.

Passenger service to New York will serve both purposes. With its potential for further connections into Canada, Vermont is a logical northern anchor for the northeast rail corridor.

Railyard Relocation

A 1999 study by the Vermont Agency of Transportation assessed possible relocation sites for both the Burlington and Rutland switching yards. In both cities, prime downtown properties are occupied by tracks, impeding development in the traditional growth centers. Also, the projected growth in freight traffic will soon surpass the capacity of the existing yards. If Vermont is to achieve its goal of shifting traffic to rail, the logistical problems of these railyards must be solved.

A suitable site was identified in Rutland. Since 2000, conceptual design work and environmental assessments have been under way. The new site promises

2 See “Vermont Western Corridor Study, Final Report” prepared by National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK), December 1, 2001.

Page 3 of 12 NHS/Railway Corridors many benefits: switching capacity will increase, the switching function will be removed from the downtown, a new access road will reduce congestion on US Route 7, a major gateway corridor into downtown Rutland will be improved, and multiple redevelopment sites will become available in the traditional business districts adjacent to downtown. Relocating the railyard will eliminate a major grade crossing that would impede passenger service. All in all, this is smart growth at its best.

Highway Improvements

The increased flow of interstate truck traffic is exacerbating already congested conditions in several smaller towns along the corridor, most notably Brandon, Pittsford and Middlebury. Accident – and fatality – rates are high in this area. A coalition of citizens, local elected officials, state legislators and the state transportation agency has proposed a program to upgrade selected sections of the highway and study the feasibility of local bypasses.

Further south, Rutland City and Rutland Town have teamed up with the state to propose a series of upgrades to the Route 4 and 7 corridors in the Rutland area. This project was undertaken when the state canceled a bypass proposal for cost and environmental considerations.

In both projects the emphasis is on improving the existing highway in an area not served by an interstate. In Rutland the proposal highlights the relationship between the highway project and the rail improvement: the access road proposed to serve the new railyard will also divert significant truck traffic from the most congested segment of US Rt. 7.

Middlebury Spur

This project clearly illustrates the intermodal potential of the corridor. In Middlebury, a major commercial shipper is stymied in achieving full production capacity because stone quarried in Middlebury must be trucked through Brandon to reach the plant that processes it into calcium carbonate slurry. Citing aesthetics, state permits limit the shipper to 115 trucks per day on US Rt. 7 through the town; the company’s capacity is 175 trucks per day. Thus a significant amount of production – and the investment and jobs that go along with it – is lost because of the condition of the highway.

As a condition of the land use permit, the parties formed a task force to work out a solution. Vermont Railway, the Vermont Agencies of Transportation and Natural Resources, a private corporation, and the Conservation Law Foundation, a leading environmental advocacy group, developed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining their joint response to the problem.

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Consensus was reached on the plan to shift the load from highway to rail. Studies are under way to assess a proposed rail siding to be built by Vermont Railway (VTR) from the quarry to the main rail line that runs parallel to Rt. 7. This will allow VTR to accept shipments of stone for transfer to the processing plant while reducing the need to move 25,000 to 30,000 trucks per year through Brandon. Intermodal facilities installed at the processing plant will complete the connection. The private company has pledged to pay for intermodal facilities required to handle their project by rail. This is estimated at about one third of the total project cost.

The success of this interdisciplinary planning effort illustrates the caliber of problem solving possible if the transportation system is viewed as a unified corridor.

It also touches on the definition of public benefit in structuring financing of public/private projects. While the spur will enable the private company to increase production, it also achieves the public benefit of alleviating truck traffic in Brandon, an objective mandated by state permits.

III. Strategic Implications: Safety and Efficiency

When regional and local planners sought to define a strategy that would tie these four projects into a cohesive whole, a corridor approach became the obvious solution. The NHS/Railway Corridor strategy helps communities understand how seemingly independent local projects connect with each other in areas where large, comprehensive projects (such as a new interstate highway) are not feasible. It ensures the whole become more than the sum of the parts.

The central issues determining corridor improvements are efficiency and safety. While the preceding section described four individual projects of importance to western Vermont, this section describes how they fit together to address system-wide concerns.

Highways

The course followed by US Rt. 7 has been the main north-south highway corridor for the west side of the state since the area was first settled in the 18th century. Running along the valley floor west of the Green Mountains, the highway was the natural site for towns where mills could be established or east-west highways could cross through mountain passes.

These towns remain the heart of Vermont’s communities, and they are at risk from the increased use of the highway. The size of trucks passing through them has become a contentious subject for smaller towns whose stock in trade is selling tourists a piece of Old Vermont.

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Local trucking is not the only concern. Interstate and international trucking from New York and Quebec place a heavy burden on Vermont highways while contributing little to the region’s economy. As crossing the border has become more time consuming since the September 11 terrorist attacks, Canadian trucks are detouring through Vermont’s smaller border crossings and traveling south on US Rts. 7 and 22. These interstate trucks are damaging foundations of historic buildings along the route and putting more wear on the highways than the State can afford to repair.

Highway issues addressed by this proposal include:

• Increased volumes of freight traffic through small towns and villages. • Roadway alignments that do not support the volume of traffic. • Establishing convenient, cost effective opportunities to transfer freight from truck to rail, reducing the traffic burden on the highway. • Improving safety by reducing congestion. • Reducing the levels of nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and diesel particulates emitted during the transport of commercial goods.

Railways

Given the traditional configuration of rail facilities in older downtowns, the redevelopment of rail lines has profound implications for downtown revitalization and economic development. Commercial and residential neighborhoods share close proximity to the tracks, a system acceptable when the tracks were originally laid but considered unsafe by modern standards. Key issues common to rail operations throughout the corridor include:

• Haz-mats shipped through and switched near population centers. • Grade crossings • Difficulty in limiting pedestrian and vehicular flow near switching operations located in population centers.

The railways of western Vermont operate on rights-of-way established in the mid-nineteenth century and have been used continuously since. While the routes exist, maintenance was deferred for decades as society debated whether or not it was worth investing in the future of rail. Today it is clear that this future exists. Concerns ranging from the cost of construction to containing sprawl lend new credence to the use of rail.

Vermont showed an early commitment to this potential by purchasing the main rail line when the private operator closed in the early 1960’s. With both the NHS highway and the rail line under state ownership, there is a clear channel for an integrated transportation plan.

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However, before this potential can be reached the rail lines must be brought up to modern standard. In western Vermont maintenance issues include:

• Deteriorated rail beds and substandard rail. • Bridges averaging 100 years in age. • Low clearances that do not accommodate modern rail cars. • Businesses that could use rail but lack rail sidings. • Obsolete switching facilities with insufficient capacity. • Inferior rail to truck intermodal facilities.

IV. Land Use and Planning Considerations

The NHS/Railway Corridor proposal responds to several conditions found in rural communities:

• The cost of building interstate highways is not justified given the population density or, in many cases, environmental constraints.

• Transporting by rail is more cost effective per mile and per ton than moving the same goods by truck. This benefit is contingent on business having good access to rail, and the rail system being responsive to the need for on-time shipping. Redeveloping corridors – rather than focusing on individual improvements on a stand-alone basis – is the only way to achieve the efficiencies necessary to capture rail’s competitive potential.

• In many areas rail rights-of-way already exist in close proximity to highways of the National Highway System. Upgrading this existing infrastructure is more cost effective than building new.

• Working within existing rights-of-way responds to established development patterns that are of concern in smart growth planning.

Environmental Benefits and Energy Conservation

The preceding sections have described the commercial benefits of a corridor strategy. However, there are also significant environmental and energy benefits to be drawn from increased use of rail. A report by Worldwatch Institute of Washington, DC cites two advantages of particular interest:3

• An intercity passenger train is three times as energy-efficient as commercial air and six times as efficient as a car with one occupant. • For every ton of goods moved one kilometer, freight rail emits one- third the nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide, and one-tenth the

3 “Back on Track: The Global Rail Revival”, by Marcia D. Lowe; Worldwatch Paper 118, April 1994; Worldwatch Institute, Washington, DC.

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volatile organic compounds and diesel particulates emitted by heavy trucks.

This proposal does not suggest that all freight can or should be moved to rail; that is not a realistic proposition. However, we do have multiple instances – individual localized needs – that point to an enhanced role for rail.

There will be no big multimodal facilities in this rural area of Vermont, just individual businesses and groups of businesses making localized use of small intermodal facilities. Improved switching yards in Burlington and Rutland will ensure that the corridor has sufficient capacity for growth. The system will for the first time link many Vermont businesses to multimodal facilities that already exist in neighboring regions.

As a practical matter, policy makers must recognize that investing in rail infrastructure complements investments made in highways. Where no interstate highway exists, the combined improvement of both railways and highways in NHS/Railway Corridors is required to serve many rural areas with a competitive transportation system.

V. Economic Development Goals

A central mission of the transportation system is to facilitate trade. Tourism will certainly benefit from better accessibility by passenger rail, but the greatest potential is in manufacturing and distribution. Many of Vermont’s towns and cities grew up along rail lines, and their traditional commercial districts are oriented toward the tracks. Many of these parcels went fallow when rail declined in the mid 20th century, and are prime candidates for redevelopment as the NHS/Railway Corridors improve their access.

Rail improvements serve two important statewide economic development objectives: industrial clustering and downtown revitalization. Since many of the region’s commodities move by rail, it is practical to cluster related businesses along the same rail corridor. This will not replace trucks but rather reduce their impact by balancing the load between multiple modes.

In the case of the quarry operation discussed above, purchasers of their product – crushed calcium carbonate – will be able to locate close to the source of the raw material, reducing shipping costs and highway congestion. Without proper transportation infrastructure, the value added benefit of the resource will be lost when the product leaves the state for further processing.

Policy makers must consider new definitions of “public good” when determining eligibility of freight rail projects for State and Federal funding. Traditional interpretations of public benefit will continue to force goods to be transported by truck, as improvements to rail lines will lag for want of funding.

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VI. Cost Benefits of NHS/Railway Corridors

Transportation is expensive. Drawing exact comparisons between projects is difficult because unit costs vary greatly according to engineering requirements, acquisition and relocation costs, and a host of other factors.

In Western Vermont figures do exist for two projects in the Bennington to Rutland NHS/Railway Corridor that indicate a significant cost benefit to upgrading the existing NHS and rail lines. A 1997 DEIS (Draft Environmental Impact Statement) evaluating the cost of building a bypass around Rutland City studied several alternate routes4. These ranged in cost from $49 million to $183.5 million. The alternative preferred by the City cost $61.5 million to construct 8.1 miles of highway for an average cost of $7.59 million per mile, exclusive of right-of-way acquisition and relocation costs.

The recent Amtrak analysis of upgrading the rail line from Glenville Jct., NY to Winooski, VT estimated the cost at $76.5 million dollars for approximately 166 miles of track, an average cost of $460,000 per mile5. As the rail right-of- way is already assembled, the cost estimates may be compared with the bypass estimates that do not include right-of-way acquisition.

Additional corridor costs will be incurred for the Rutland railyard relocation and Middlebury spur (estimated $120 million) and other upgrades to US Rt. 7 (say $50 million over time). Even with these added to the Amtrak estimate the corridor improvements would average $1.49 million per mile, compared with $7.59 million per mile to bypass a single community.

While the DEIS indicated a high number of automobiles to be served by the bypass, it says nothing of how that traffic would get to the bypass – i.e. using the existing NHS highways. The improvement would reduce travel times in one segment of the corridor but would not serve to balance traffic between locations along the length of the corridor. It would not improve intermodal connectivity.

VII. Contribution to Smart Growth

Vermont shares the national concern over the effect growth patterns have on the quality of life in our communities. After a generation of exponential suburban growth, the idea of “smart growth” – planning for the effective use of development patterns already established - is grabbing pubic attention. For many the impetus is the desire to preserve open land in suburban and rural

4 See “Rutland DEIS Summary” FHWA-VT-EIS-97-01-D, Rutland FEGC 419-3(44)-EIS, Vermont Agency of Transportation, December 1997. 5 “Vermont Western Corridor Study, Final Report” National Railroad Passenger Corporation, December 1, 2001

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areas. It is based on the principle that it is better to reuse infrastructure already in place than to continually expand infrastructure in undeveloped areas.

Beyond this, definitions of smart growth vary greatly. They range from the concept of “new urbanism”, focusing on mixed use models heavily dependent on public transit, to anti-sprawl movements that use environmental and other permit regulations to steer development patterns. The result is an uneasy balance between incentives and regulations. Coming to a clearer understanding of smart growth and its implications is essential in setting public land use policy.

Smart growth policy must be locally oriented. Each locality has individual needs, a vision of community unique to its setting. Local resources must be actively used to further the economic wellbeing of the community.

“Although Smart Growth is a national movement, in practice its implementation occurs only in local communities and jurisdiction. Local communities not only consist of a single jurisdiction, but include regions as well. It is essential that Smart Growth proponents recognize that communities vary widely in their own Smart Growth issues, economic vitality/potential, and quality of life.”

American Economic Development Council Official position on smart growth “Economic Development Review”, Fall 2001

Part of each community’s individuality is the nature of its commerce. What is produced there, how it should be shipped, how much land it needs, and how much labor all contribute to determining the appropriate development pattern. One size does not fit all. While aesthetics have driven much of the debate so far, commercial considerations will determine the ultimate success or failure of smart growth.

The AEDC statement continues:

“Market reality – the core issue for economic developers – must be considered in any discussion concerning Smart Growth principles and policies. The role of economic development in Smart Growth is to preserve community and regional economic competitiveness, given the reality of the marketplace. Economic competitiveness means that the attributes of a region/community – such as transportation, human resources, and cost factors – make it a viable location from a profit perspective, for private industry.”

To use marketing terms, will smart growth be achieved by a “pull” mechanism that makes the target areas more appealing to investors, or by a

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“push” mechanism that raises barriers in areas to be preserved in an attempt to force development into target areas?

From a competitive perspective, a “pull” mechanism is the only responsible solution. Raising barriers to prevent sprawl has the net effect of increasing development costs. A rural state like Vermont is already at a competitive disadvantage with more centrally located neighbors. An increase in costs, occurring at a time when the state most needs to find ways to be cost- competitive, simply drives investment out of the state.

Thus the NHS/Railway Corridor concept will recapture the economic potential of an existing transportation corridor in order to enhance economic opportunity in the communities along the corridor. As businesses are presented with cost-effective ways to share freight and passenger loads between rail and highways, the adverse pressures on individual highway segments and community centers will be reduced. At the same time, job opportunities for workers living in those communities will be maximized. Environmental benefits will accrue from increased use of rail, resulting in positive contributions to the quality of life throughout the region.

The Western Vermont proposal addresses several key aspects of Vermont’s regional smart growth challenge:

• Downtown redevelopment: Both of Vermont’s largest cities, Burlington and Rutland, have major rail switching facilities in their downtowns. The locations of these yards restrict reuse of key urban parcels for commercial redevelopment, increasing the attractiveness of outlying “greenfield” development sites. Relocation the yards will improve public safety and the quality of life in downtown neighborhoods.

• Business access to transportation infrastructure: Rail sidings for individual businesses have traditionally been considered investment concerns for the private companies involved. It is becoming increasingly apparent that business access to transportation has a profound effect on community infrastructure, and is thus as much a matter of public benefit as building off-ramps on interstate highways.

• Improved safety: Planning for an integrated corridor provides the best format for identifying safety problems and prioritizing solutions.

______Contact: Matthew T. Sternberg, Exec. Dir. (802) 775-2910 Rutland Redevelopment Authority [email protected] 103 Wales Street Rutland, Vermont 05701

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