Reducing the likelihood of a train blocking access to the Baptist Medical Center campus on the Southbank, improving logistics for the port and making way for passenger rail service between Jacksonville and New Orleans.
Those were three reasons the Downtown Investment Authority on Wednesday approved a resolution supporting a planned grant request by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority.
Richard Clark, JTA government affairs officer, said the authority anticipates federal funds could soon be available to improve the rail yard near the Prime Osborn Convention Center in LaVilla, pending a successful grant application.
Through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program, Clark said funds will be sought to improve the track layout and replace the track switching system where the CSX, Florida East Coast and Norfolk Southern railroads converge on their way in and out of Jacksonville.
Clark said the existing switching system is outdated and requires train operators and rail yard personnel to communicate via radio, which slows down trains as they approach the yard compared to using automated technology that is the industry standard.
The track layout also creates a “choke point” when trains have to change tracks for northbound, southbound and westbound routes.
The proposed improvements would make moving freight trains through the area more efficient, which Clark said would greatly benefit regional logistics in terms of moving trains to and from the port.
Trains entering Downtown over the railroad bridge across the St. Johns River having to slow down — or even stop — near Baptist Medical Center is another issue that would be relieved if a new system is installed.
Clark said Baptist Health CEO Hugh Greene is in support of the grant application for the rail improvements.
Another reason to improve the track system is to accommodate JTA’s proposal to move Jacksonville’s Amtrak passenger terminal to LaVilla as an element of the future Regional Transportation Center approved by JTA and the city.
Clark said Amtrak plans to restore the Crescent Line, which at one time provided passenger service between Jacksonville and New Orleans.
The route was eliminated in 2005 after miles of track were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
While the proposal is in the initial stages, Clark said the consensus among stakeholders could be considered historic.
“It’s rare to have four railroads agree,” he said.
Downtown authority CEO Aundra Wallace said the proposed improvements would create “a true intermodal center” in the urban core.
LaVilla — between the convention center, Duval County Courthouse and Interstate 95 — has been designated by the DIA as its next priority area for redevelopment.
“It would be a game changer,” Wallace said.
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