Wilmington, NC, Rail Realignment Project

The Wilmington Rail Realignment Project (Project) is located primarily within the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County, North Carolina, but also extends into Brunswick County, North Carolina. The existing CSXT rail line, commonly referred to as the “Beltline,” is the only active track through the City. The Project proposes to reroute all existing freight traffic (both local and through traffic) from the Beltline to a new rail connection to be constructed between Davis Yard/Navassa and the Port of Wilmington. The Project will improve safety, regional transportation mobility, and freight rail operations, while also improving the resiliency, reliability, and operational fluidity of the sole freight rail route connecting southeastern North Carolina with the Port of Wilmington. Currently the Project is unfunded.

Environmental Assessment

FRA, in cooperation with the City of Wilmington, is preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq., to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of the Project to the human and natural environment. This webpage will be updated when the draft EA is available for public review/comment. 

FRA NEPA Contact:

Kevin Wright, Environmental Protection Specialist 
Environment and Project Engineering Division
Federal Railroad Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
West Building, Mail Stop 20
Washington, DC 20590
Kevin.Wright@dot.gov

Permitting Dashboard

The U.S. Permitting Dashboard is an online tool for Federal agencies, project sponsors, and interested members of the public to track the Federal government’s environmental review and authorization processes for large or complex infrastructure projects. The Dashboard is part of a government-wide effort to improve coordination, transparency, and accountability. A link to this project’s page on the Dashboard is below.

• Permitting Dashboard link