The United States Secretary of Agriculture says a federal grant should increase efficiency for shipping grain in part of South Dakota. More than $12.6 million is going to rehabilitate a stretch of railroad the state owns in south-central South Dakota. The overall cost of the reconstruction is nearly $30 million. The project is one of 72 efforts across the country aimed at improving infrastructure and creating jobs.
South Dakota state leaders say federal grant dollars will allow crews to replace 1,300 railroad ties each mile between Chamberlain and Presho. They plan to add rock along the rails and fix bridges so they can endure the burden of rail cars that weigh nearly 300,000 pounds.
The United States Department of Transportation awards grants for Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery – or TIGER grants. But the leader of the US Department of Agriculture is highlighting the impact of the money awarded to South Dakota. Secretary Tom Vilsack says upgrading nearly 42 miles of state-owned railway is a step toward modernizing infrastructure that allows the ag industry to flourish.
"The reality is that we’re always concerned about how we’re going to move grain to ethanol production facilities or how we’re going to move grain to markets here and around the world," Vilsack says. "So the extent to which we can improve either rail or highways systems and river and dams and port systems, it all impacts and affects positively our agricultural economy."
Vilsack says the grant can’t immediately fix the challenges Midwestern producers are encountering getting their grain to market. He says leaders are working with the rail companies trying to ease the backlog.
"This obviously means a lot to producers," Vilsack says. "It isn’t just about moving grain; it’s also about the value of that grain, and, unfortunately, producers in the Dakotas may be receiving a little bit less for their grain than they would otherwise receive because there has been this issue with transportation."
Vilsack says the United States has an agricultural advantage compared to other countries; he credits America’s vast transportation network. The Secretary of Agriculture says other nations are actively working to improve their systems, and the US must invest in transportation infrastructure to remain competitive.