Louisiana Southern Receives $1.5 Million Grant

Watco’s Louisiana Southern Railroad (LAS) has received a new grant of $1.5 million from the state of Louisiana.

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) announced November 30 that one of its two inaugural Rail Infrastructure Improvement Program grants would go to the LAS. Another $1.5 million was awarded to the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad.

The LAS, in northern Louisiana, is split into two sections joined by a 20-mile stretch that the KCS operates. The grant targets bridge repair, tie replacement, and track surfacing in key areas across the nearly 200 miles of both LAS sections.

General Manager Blake Smith described how the money is being put to work. “We’re going to do a lot of work on this line as a first step in modernizing the line to facilitate 286k (286,000-lb.) carloads. That’s going to be a huge benefit to our customers, who will be able to ship carloads at full capacity. That increases their efficiency and reduces freight on highways, saving taxpayers money in the long-run on highway infrastructure repairs.”

LAS Roadmaster Juddy Rogers and Division Engineer Brent Killion worked with Ailsa von Dobeneck, Watco assistant vice president for government relations, to gather information needed for the grant application.

“This is the first step in trying to improve our infrastructure for a more modern car weight standard of 286,000 pounds,” Rogers said. “Right now, Hodge North (Subdivision) is restricted to 263 (263,000-lb. railcars). It’s the first step in trying to go with more infrastructure upgrades to facilitate those heavier carloads.”

He said upgrades have already begun. “We have started some bridge repairs on the Hodge Sub. I’ve got a contractor out working on a bridge at 24.1 (milepost 24.1, near Bienville) currently doing some repairs to some steel H piles and replacing deck ties and bridge timbers.” Rogers said tie gangs and surfacing crews were also at work.

Pictured above from left: Dean Goodell, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) freight and passenger rail director; Ailsa von Dobeneck, Watco assistant vice president for government relations; Ronald Wendel, Jr., Port of New Orleans EVP and CFO; Renee Lapeyrolerie, LADOTD commissioner of multimodal commerce; and Tomeka Watson Bryant, New Orleans Public Belt Railroad general manager.