Our Bolton Hill neighborhood is unique in that it is adjacent to two important railroad tunnels, both built in the mid-to-late 1800’s, that have now become major bottlenecks in our national rail network. Both tunnels are the subjects of major modernization programs that will transform and improve rail service in the Northeast and Midwestern United States.
Located to the north of Bolton Hill is the most talked-about tunnel, the Amtrak B&P Tunnel. A new Fredrick Douglass Tunnel will replace the B&P Tunnel that carries Amtrak and freight traffic along the Northeast Corridor. (The Bulletin will report on its progress next month.)
The second rail tunnel adjacent to Bolton Hill is the 1.7-mile-long CSX Howard Street Tunnel, which extends from just south of the Camden Yards baseball stadium to the Mount Royal Station currently used as classroom and studio space by MICA. The Howard Street Tunnel, built in the 1890s, currently has a 19-foot clearance, insufficient for transporting double-stacked intermodal containers. This limits the capacity of CSX trains entering and leaving the Seagirt Marine Terminal Intermodal Container Transfer Facility in the Port of Baltimore and limits CSX rail service to Philadelphia and the Midwest.
CSX is undertaking a major initiative to make its entire network accessible to accommodate double-track train service. The Howard Street Tunnel Clearance Program (HST Program) includes lowering the track inside the Howard Street Tunnel and “notching” the tunnel ceiling to provide the additional 21-inches of clearance needed to transport the double stacked intermodal containers. The tunnel modifications also provide the opportunity for drainage improvements within the tunnel. Construction began in June. Work areas can be viewed at the MICA Mt Royal Station and from the MTA Light Rail Station platform. Construction is slowed by the need to maintain service on this critical link in the rail network and will not be completed until the summer of 2027.
The HST Program includes an additional 22 locations between Baltimore and Philadelphia where track lowering or bridge modifications/replacement are required. This spring, construction began on modifications to the North Avenue Bridge between Howard St. and the entrance to I-83 as part of the 10 locations for modifications in Baltimore. As described in the Federal Environmental Assessment, the construction challenge at North Avenue is that the existing CSX tunnel is “sandwiched” between the bridge above and the existing B&P Tunnel and a 98-inch diameter brick drainage tunnel below. To provide the required rail clearance and maintain the North Avenue Bridge profile, contractors are replacing a portion of the original bridge’s arch structure with a shallow steel girder.
According to Robert Koehne, CSX’s outreach coordinator, the bridge will be reconstructed one third at a time. The current work is occurring in the middle of the bridge with traffic lanes on the outside of the construction work. Construction will them move to the southern third of the bridge and traffic will be rerouted to the northern portion of the bridge, then followed by work on the northern third of the bridge with traffic shifted to the southern portion of the bridge. The final construction will occur again in the center third of the bridge, with traffic shifted to the outside of the bridge. The bridge will remain open to traffic throughout construction. Construction on the North Avenue Bridge is scheduled to be completed in early 2027.
Other construction activities include the raising and replacement of Guilford Ave. and Harford Rd. bridges over the CSX tracks. Construction is anticipated to begin at these locations this fall and will be completed in 2025 and 2026, respectively.
The HST Program is expected to cost $566 million, funded by capital from CSX and grants from the Federal Railroad Administration, the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the City of Baltimore. For comments or questions, email CSX_HST_Outreach@assedollc.com or call 443-535-6920.
–Sallye Perrin, a civil engineer, is a frequent Bulletin contributor.
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