Brightline laying second track, closing crossing to install gates and signals
TreasureCoast (treasurecoast.com) – Nine years after announcing a higher-speed passenger railroad would be built through Treasure Coast communities, Brightline finally is laying its second track and closing road crossings to install new gates and signals.
A station on the Treasure Coast likely still is years away — a legal settlement with Martin County guarantees a station in the region within five years of completion of the system — but the actual, very visible work along the Florida East Coast Railway corridor here is underway.
Completion of the long-debated railroad, that is to travel between Miami and Orlando in 3 hours and 15 minutes, is expected in less than two years.
From now until mid- to late 2022, Treasure Coast communities will see periodic, days- or weeks-long railroad-crossing closures. Brightline is preparing its 168-mile railway corridor between West Palm Beach and Orlando International Airport for trains traveling up to 110 mph in a project estimated to cost at least $2.5 billion, according to financial and construction disclosures.
In Stuart this week, it saw the Treasure Coast’s first week-long crossing closure.
On Northwest Fern Street, off of Dixie Highway just north of the old Roosevelt Bridge, crews are building the second track, repaving the road, building new sidewalks, installing new pedestrian gates, signals and crossing gates.
The next work will be just north, the nearby railroad crossing at Alice Street, which is to be closed May 12-18, according to Brightline spokesperson Katie Mitzner.
This summer, Brightline plans substantial crossing closures at Broward Street in Port Salerno, just south of the waterfront district, and Tequesta Drive in Tequesta, at the Martin County line.
Brightline has yet to permit and schedule closures in St. Lucie and Indian River counties. Typically, Mitzner said, Brightline’s engineers plan about three weeks in advance.
Martin County, unlike St. Lucie and Indian River counties, has agreements in place with Brightline to cover certain long-term costs associated with railroad crossings because of its settlement in 2018.
