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NCRR REPLACES OLDEST BRIDGE WITH SPAN MADE IN CLAYTON

December 19, 2007

RALEIGH, NC –The North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) will be replacing a 107-year old bridge in Clayton to allow faster speeds for trains and to provide increased clearance for vehicles. The bridge, which spans Highway 70 Business in Johnston County, is the oldest bridge span on the NCRR. It has a vertical clearance for vehicles of only 13’9" feet. The bridge’s age has restricted train operating speeds to 49 mph, and its low clearance has resulted in it being struck by trucks. The new bridge will have a clearance of 15’6" and a span of 50 ft. The new bridge will cost approximately $1,000,000 and will meet modern bridge design standards and safety criteria for both rail and highway infrastructure. It can support all modern freight and passenger trains and speeds will increase for both.

The span, which consists of six parallel steel plate girders with a steel deck pan to retain ballast, is being fabricated and painted locally in Clayton by Structural Steel Products Corporation and Structural Coatings, Inc. Fabrication is expected to be complete by the end of the year and the new span will be delivered to the job site in February, 2008. "Having a local company build the replacement span carries on a NCRR tradition of supporting the state’s economy," says Scott Saylor, NCRR President. "Structural Steel Products Corporation is a rail customer. Together with Structural Coatings, Inc., the companies employ 115 skilled workers in Clayton." The North Carolina Railroad Company owns and manages the 317-mile rail corridor extending from Morehead City to Charlotte. The railroad carries 70 freight trains and eight passenger trains daily. NCRR is the state’s oldest corporation and remains at the forefront of rail improvements and partnership development to promote jobs and rail-served industry across the state. It touches nearly a quarter of the state’s economy.