The Seven County Infrastructure Coalition is exploring the possibilities of running a railway that would connect the Uintah Basin to the national railway network, which currently ends in Craig, Colorado. According to Coalition Executive Director Mike McKee, Jones and DeMille Engineering recently analyzed the feasibility study for rail out of the Basin that was performed several years ago, looking at the alternative options, and found that the Craig rail line was worthy of consideration. The difficulty with most rail options out of the Basin is the terrain and that construction requires tunneling that is cost prohibitive, explains McKee, but the alternative running to Craig does not require tunneling making it a viable option that warrants a deeper look. The 7 County Infrastructure Coalition is pursuing $1 million dollars in federal TIGER grant funds to cover the lion share of cost for a new feasibility study to determine whether the Craig Rail Line option is ultimately worth pursuing. The total cost of the feasibility study is $1.1 million dollars and the Coalition is working with partners to secure the final $100,000 dollars needed if the federal funds are granted.
