The project began October 16 and is scheduled to be completed by mid-December.

Union Pacific plans to invest approximately $3.3 billion in capital during 2011, which supports America’s current and future freight transportation needs and enhances the safety and efficiency of the railroad’s 32,000-mile network.  These investment projects are examples of Union Pacific’s continuing efforts to improve transportation infrastructure and support its customers through strategic investments.

According to the Association of American Railroads, America’s largest railroads keep pace with the top nine states in terms of highway spending, and they do it with private, not taxpayer, money. In 2010, capital spending by Class I railroads totaled $9.8 billion, and the industry plans to make $12 billion in capital spending during 2011. All told, freight rail companies have invested $480 billion to maintain and modernize the national rail network since 1980.

Improved and additional rail capacity benefits everyone. It allows freight rail service to grow, helping to build a cleaner environment. Union Pacific can move one ton of freight nearly 500 miles on a single gallon of diesel fuel, and, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, freight trains are nearly four times more fuel efficient than trucks. Motorists also benefit from reduced congestion on highways as a single Union Pacific train can remove up to 300 trucks off our roads.