City of Columbia receives $204 million in federal funding for Assembly Street Railroad Project
January 14, 2025
On Friday, January 10, 2025 Congressman James E. Clyburn of South Carolina announced $204,200,000 for the Assembly Street Railroad in Columbia. This project was funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rail Crossing Elimination Grant Program, funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
This funding will make crossroads safer, decrease traffic delays, provide smoother pathways for freight without risk of collision and improve air quality.
The Assembly Street Railroad Separation Project and Huger Street Connector seeks to address one of the state’s highest profile traffic areas where both vehicle and train traffic meet on a daily basis.This project will separate train and vehicular traffic permanently, allowing both to move freely through Columbia.
Although the preferred alternative has not been selected and the project study is still ongoing, the description below focuses on one of the leading alternatives.
Alternative A (Formerly 320): Eliminates 15 grade crossings (6 via horizontal; 9 via raised profile). Assembly Street would be lowered and the rail tracks would be elevated at Catawba and Whaley Streets. The existing at grade crossings at Dreyfuss and Assembly (near to Capital City Stadium) and Rosewood and Assembly (near the Fairgrounds) would be removed. Road closures would occur for Lincoln and Flora Streets. The rail line crossing Assembly Street near the California Dreaming Restaurant (400 block of Assembly Street) will remain – the low volume of train traffic has minimal impact on vehicular congestion.
The City of Columbia and the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) are collaborating to advance the project forward while securing funding for the next steps. Preliminary Engineering Agreements have been established with CSX and Norfolk Southern. The railroads have provided comments to alternatives and SCDOT is reviewing them internally. The EA (Environmental Assessment) and the FONSI (Finding of No Significant Impact) are expected to be complete by early 2025.
Because of the preliminary status of the project, a final project cost estimate has not yet been determined. However, the current estimated range as provided by the SCDOT is $265 – $305 million for the entire project. Current funding is $279 M ($204M FY23‐24 Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program, $10M FY2024 Congressionally Directed Spending, $35M State of South Carolina, $5M City of Columbia and $25M Richland County Transportation Penny, pending).