Rep. Louise Slaughter was in Rochester today to announce that the local Amtrak station was getting some federal money for upgrades ($1.5 million, to be precise). But the bigger news out of today's press conference was that more than $28 million in federal grants will be going to three upstate projects. Today's big rail winner: the Syracuse area. Say hello to $18 million for track and signal improvements.
Albany and Poughkeepsie also got in on this batch of Federal Rail Administration (FRA) funding. Almost $8 million is pegged for signal improvements around Poughkeepsie. In Albany, $2 million is going toward the early stages of replacing a 144-year-old bridge that spans the Hudson.
Slaughter was the first to break the news on this latest influx of rail funding. U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is scheduled to make an announcement on Thursday that will outline where the rest of the $245 million in FRA grants is heading.
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