EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Officials broke ground on a multi-million dollar rail-yard expansion project Tuesday, April 22 at Fort Bliss.
Its a federally funded infrastructure upgrade aimed at speeding up troop deployments and improving military readiness, officials said.
The project will add more than four miles of new rail track, and expand the instillation’s existing loading pad. Once completed, Fort Bliss will see a 40% boost to its rail capacity, officials said.
“It will allow us to handle about 565 rail cars in a 72-hour period, which is a significant enhancement to our current capabilities,” said Col. Brendan Gallagher, Garrison commander at Fort Bliss.
Fort Bliss serves as a major deployment hub for military operations around the world. According to Railway Age, the most recent upgrade to the post’s rail infrastructure took place in 2002, and that expansion was designed to support the air defense units then stationed at Fort Bliss.
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, attended the groundbreaking ceremony. She emphasized the importance of making every federal dollar count, especially as funding cuts continue.
“The capital improvements needed have not been a target,” Escobar said. “I want to make sure we do better, that we stretch those dollars further. Unfortunately, military construction frequently is sometimes twice as expensive as regular construction, sometimes as high as five times more expensive. That’s unacceptable.”
Officials have not released a completion date for the project.
Read: Read More