The Georgia Department of Transportation will receive $8,496,000 to improve rail line in Lowndes and Berrien Counties
The Georgia Ports Authority will receive $26,521,740 to finalize designs and build improvements at Brunswick’s Colonel’s Island Terminal
Funding provided through federal CRISI program Senator Reverend Warnock championed through the Senate Commerce committee
Senator Reverend Warnock: “The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to deliver historic investments for Georgians in every corner of the state. This latest grant will help mitigate congestion, build new tracks, and reinforce existing tracks leading to safer, more efficient, and more sustainable rail transportation and shipping”
Senator Ossoff: “After hearing from communities statewide about aging railroad infrastructure conditions Senator Warnock and I elevated this as one of our highest priorities”
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), a member of the Senate Commerce committee charged with overseeing the nation’s transportation policies, and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) announced they secured $60,324,102 in federal funding to strengthen railroad safety across Georgia. The funds were made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, championed by the senators for its investments in Georgia, and administered through the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program. Senator Warnock successfully strengthened the CRISI Program to deliver for Georgia during negotiations for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and wrote letters of support championing funding for the Georgia Ports Authority, Patriot Rail Company, and OmniTRAX Holdings projects.
The Georgia Ports Authority will receive $26,521,740 to finalize designs and build improvements at Brunswick’s Colonel’s Island Terminal. This includes constructing a new South Side Rail Yard with four additional tracks (about 23,735 feet), an auto parking area, and a perimeter road, as well as adding a grade separation at SCM Road. Additionally, the existing Myd-Harris Yard will be reconfigured to improve efficiency and shift rail operations away from nearby neighborhoods.
The Georgia Department of Transportation will receive $8,496,000 to improve the CPR GF rail line in Lowndes and Berrien Counties. This project includes upgrading tracks, rehabilitating bridges and sidings, and adding a new spur. These upgrades will help maintain large freight capacity, enable speeds of 25 mph, enhance crossing safety, improve reliability, reduce future maintenance costs, and support local economic growth with improved infrastructure.
“Our communities thrive when we are better connected, which is why I have been focused on strengthening rail safety and infrastructure in Georgia, and why I was proud to champion efforts in the Senate to strengthen the CRISI program allowing these funds to flow our state,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to deliver historic investments for Georgians in every corner of the state. This latest grant will help mitigate congestion, build new tracks, and reinforce existing tracks leading to safer, more efficient, and more sustainable rail transportation and shipping.”
“After hearing from communities statewide about aging railroad infrastructure conditions Senator Warnock and I elevated this as one of our highest priorities. Resources through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are now flowing across the State of Georgia to plan and begin construction to address this crisis. We’ve listened, we’ve heard, we’ve acted, and help is on the way,” said Senator Ossoff.
The purpose of the CRISI Program is to invest in a wide range of projects within the United States to improve railroad safety, efficiency, and reliability; mitigate congestion at both intercity passenger and freight rail chokepoints to support the more efficient movement of both people and goods; enhance multi-modal connections; and lead to new or substantially improved Intercity Passenger Rail Transportation corridors.
See a full breakdown of the grants below:
| Grant Recipient | Project Description | Federal Award Amount |
| Georgia Ports Authority | Final design and construction to improve the Myd-Harris Yard and build the new South Side Rail Yard at the Colonel’s Island Terminal in Brunswick, GA. Specifically, for the South Side Rail Yard, the project would construct four new yard tracks, estimated at approximately 23,735 feet of track, and construct south side auto parking area and a perimeter road, as well as grade separate the existing crossing at SCM Road. Additionally, it would lengthen and reconfigure tracks at the existing Myd-Harris Yard to improve operational efficiency and bring rail switching activities inside the terminal and away from the adjacent neighborhood. | $26,521,740 |
| Georgia Department of Transportation | Final design/construction for a track and rail rehabilitation/upgrade, multibridge rehabilitation, siding rehabilitation, and the construction of a new spur on the CPR GF Line across Lowndes and Berrien Counties, Georgia. The objective of this Project is to preserve the railroad’s ability to accommodate 286,000-lb carloads and 25 mph operating speeds, enhance safety at grade crossings, support the reliability of freight movement by improving state of good repair, reduce future maintenance costs, and support economic development with new and improve siding and spur tracks. | $8,496,000 |
| Patriot Rail Company LLC | Final design and construction activities to improve track conditions on eight Patriot railroads across the southeast. | $12,840,150 |
| OmniTRAX Holdings Combined, Inc. | Final design and construction activities to replace railroad ties on four OmniTRAX-owned short lines across four states – Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, and Washington. | $12,466,212 |
Last December, Senators Warnock and Ossoff delivered $12 million in new Federal funding for a project in Jenkins County that will improve mobility by helping eliminate railway-highway crossings through the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program. Last year, Senator Warnock secured the passage of two critical provisions in the Railway Safety Act of 2023 to address stalled trains trapping Atlanta residents in their neighborhood, and would update the grant program to provide additional support for projects that would eliminate crossings near schools, along school bus routes. In August 2023, Senator Warnock urged Secretary Buttigieg to approve rail crossing improvements in Millen, GA, and in 2021, Senator Warnock joined Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) to introduce the bipartisan Railway Upgrades for Rural American Lines (RURAL) Act to build on the successes already found through the Section 130 grant program and help states modernize unsafe or functionally outdated railroad warning devices.
Senator Ossoff has worked alongside Senator Reverend Warnock to help Georgia communities address railroad crossings blockages. In September 2023, Senator Ossoff urged U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to support GDOT and Millen’s project. In June 2023, Senators Ossoff and Warnock delivered Federal resources for Chatham, DeKalb, and Gwinnett Counties through the bipartisan infrastructure law’s Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program.
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