Now that the word is out that the Uinta Basin Railway received final approval from the Surface Transportation Board, there is a common question asked: What’s the construction timeline? Rio Grande Pacific Senior Vice President Mark Hemphill provided an answer to this and many other questions during a radio interview that is available to listen here https://basinnow.com/public_affairs.php. Hemphill explained that the goal is to be moving dirt by January 2023 but a lot needs to get done between now and then for that to happen. By a lot, Hemphill explains that over a thousand agreements will need to be in place that will take a large team to pull together what is necessary. They will need to have ‘right of way’ acquired, all utility crossing agreements, irrigation district agreements, roadway agreements, as well as the need to procure contractors, procure materials, have the final design, and complete a great deal of required surveying in order to meet environmental conditions. All that has to happen before they can start moving dirt, shared Hemphill. If that happens, then it’s anticipated the construction schedule could be complete in late 2024. That is an aggressive schedule, said Hemphill, but the plan is to work extremely hard to try to meet that goal of starting in January 2023. Listen to the entire: interview https://basinnow.com/public_affairs.php.
