neroden
Engineer
Good article.
Apparently the funded Middlebury Tunnel alone is going to take until 2017 to finish construction, so it can't happen faster than that.
Here's hoping that the other necessary improvements to the Burlington-Rutland line get funded and happen on schedule to allow for opening by 2017.
Looking at the "funded 2015" plan and the existing state of things the VTrans webpages, it looks like most of the rail replacement (except for two short segments north and south of Middlebury) will be done by the end of 2015. It also looks like a lot of the bridge and grade crossing work will be done, though it's really hard for me to tell how much will still be left to be done. I would expect the rest of it to be done in 2016.
There's also station construction. Which would just mean platform construction at Middlebury, and possibly reconstruction at Burlington. Both could go pretty fast given that the state owns the rails, but they need to be funded.
Apparently the funded Middlebury Tunnel alone is going to take until 2017 to finish construction, so it can't happen faster than that.
Here's hoping that the other necessary improvements to the Burlington-Rutland line get funded and happen on schedule to allow for opening by 2017.
Looking at the "funded 2015" plan and the existing state of things the VTrans webpages, it looks like most of the rail replacement (except for two short segments north and south of Middlebury) will be done by the end of 2015. It also looks like a lot of the bridge and grade crossing work will be done, though it's really hard for me to tell how much will still be left to be done. I would expect the rest of it to be done in 2016.
There's also station construction. Which would just mean platform construction at Middlebury, and possibly reconstruction at Burlington. Both could go pretty fast given that the state owns the rails, but they need to be funded.