LAURINBURG — The North Carolina Department of Transportation will hold a public input meeting later this month to discuss a project that would improve sections of CSX railroad tracks in Scotland County.

The informal meeting will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Aug. 31, at First United Methodist Church at 101 W. Church St. in Laurinburg.

The project would improve low-speed tracks connecting to other CSX lines east of Laurinburg and east of Bladenboro as well as near East Acadia.

A total of 6.7 miles of tracks would be improved.

Officials say that the improvements would reduce rail freight delays, improve air quality and lower highway congestion.

“As part of a busy freight line between Wilmington and Charlotte, the tracks reduce the number of heavy trucks on state highways,” the department said in a statement.

The NCDOT would use a federal grant to pay for the project.

Residents unable to attend the meeting may submit questions and comments are due Sept. 15. For additional information, contact Anamika Laad, Senior Rail Project Engineer at 1 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, N.C. 27601; or [email protected]; or 919-707-4705.

Last year, the Department of Transportation’s Rail Division completed grade crossing safety improvements at the intersection of Biggs Street and CSX tracks.

That $220,000 project was paid for by the state and the Federal Highway Administration.

Fourteen freight trains a day travel through the crossing at a maximum speed of 49 mph.

Staff report