STV guides NS Ohio yard expansion

STV Group, Inc. said Monday, April 14, 2014 it has helped guide a major expansion at Norfolk Southern's Bellevue Yard in Ohio, which when completed "will make the facility one of the largest rail car classification and switching yards of its kind in North America."

STV says it is providing construction management services for a $40 million portion of the $160 million expansion of Bellevue Yard, which will double the facility’s size to accommodate more freight rail traffic, as well as add about 38.5 miles of additional track and 145 miles of underground cable for communications and signaling systems.

Bellevue Yard, activated in 1967, is one of NS’s main hump yards, and currently has the capacity for 1,800 cars per day. Capacity will expand to 3,600 cars per day once the project is completed. Construction is expected to be completed by year’s end.

Norfolk Southern officials expect the larger Bellevue yard will allow the railroad to send cars on shorter paths through its network while moving them faster because they’ll require less handling during sorting and classification.

“Located between Toledo and Cleveland, Ohio, Bellevue is situated at the intersection of five NS lines and is a critical part of the Midwest’s freight rail network,” said Robert Phillips, STV vice president who is responsible for overseeing the firm’s freight rail group. “STV continues to receive more and more contract awards in this vital region, with Bellevue’s expansion being one of the most significant freight rail initiatives we’ve supported to date.”