RES2025-05: Case Studies on the Economic Benefits of TDOT's Rail Connectivity Grant Program
As Tennessee's economy continues to expand, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has increasingly recognized the importance of an efficient transportation network in aiding industrial growth. Particularly, the improvement and extension of railroads have garnered attention for their potential to increase job opportunities and attract capital investment while also offering a cost-efficient alternative to roadway transportation. Freight transportation accessibility is critical to enhancing rural area development and providing service to smaller communities, which are often composed of socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. In addition, intermodal solutions reduce fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions. In 2018, TDOT made strategic investments of approximately $10 million in this sector through the Rail Connectivity Grant Program with three pivotal objectives: to increase job creation and capital investment by facilitating industries that necessitate rail access; to enhance the marketability of available industrial sites through improved rail connections; and to reduce highway and bridge maintenance costs by shifting the bulk of heavy freight transport from the road to rail networks. To date, funding has been allocated for four projects, with three of them having reached completion. Despite these efforts, there remains a lack of comprehensive analytics to calculate the benefits and relative returns on investment outcomes for these projects, and to provide a recommendation of a best investment plan that could be implemented by TDOT. This proposed project will develop a framework to analyze the economic benefits and relative returns on investment outcomes for the rail connectivity projects and conduct an analysis of such projects funded by TDOT. The assessment ensures that TDOT’s investments are validated, thereby informing future investment decisions and optimizing the program's contribution to Tennessee's overall growth agenda.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
- Funding: $200000
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Contract Numbers:
RES2025-05
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Sponsor Organizations:
Tennessee Department of Transportation
James K. Polk Building
Fifth and Deaderick Street
Nashville, TN United States 37243-0349 -
Managing Organizations:
Tennessee Department of Transportation
James K. Polk Building
Fifth and Deaderick Street
Nashville, TN United States 37243-0349 -
Project Managers:
Pallme, Dan
- Performing Organizations: Knoxville, TN United States
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Principal Investigators:
Yu, Andrew
- Start Date: 20240901
- Expected Completion Date: 20260228
- Actual Completion Date: 0
- USDOT Program: Accelerating Deployment
- USDOT Program: Construction and Project Management
- USDOT Program: National Cooperative Rail Research Program
- USDOT Program: Railroad Systems Issues
- Subprogram: Advanced Materials
- Subprogram: Center for Transportation Research
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Case studies; Connectivity; Economic benefits; Grant aid; Investments; Railroad transportation; Return on investment
- Identifier Terms: Tennessee Department of Transportation
- Subject Areas: Economics; Finance; Railroads;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01932352
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Tennessee Department of Transportation
- Contract Numbers: RES2025-05
- Files: RIP, STATEDOT
- Created Date: Sep 30 2024 4:07PM