The North Carolina Ports Authority and 13 short line railroads will receive $10.9 million combined in matching grant funds for improving rail infrastructure.
The grants come from the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Freight Rail and Rail Crossing Safety Improvement Program, which was established by the General Assembly in 2013..
Two of the recipients are within the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal coverage area. They are as follows:
Aberdeen Carolina and Western Railway: $3,563,324 for bridge improvements, siding construction and mainline track upgrades (Cabarrus, Montgomery, Moore, Stanley, Mecklenburg counties)
Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad: $419,175 for rail upgrades on the mainline (Hoke County)
The grants are matched with railroad investments that will total $21.7M in rail infrastructure improvements across the state. Combined, over 12 miles of railroad track and 35 bridges will be upgraded with the funds.
At center, Chancellor Darrell T. Allison and Juanette Council, Ed.D., vice chancellor for student affairs, cut the ribbon to celebrate the grand reopening of Fayetteville State University's newly renovated Spaulding Building, joined by campus leaders
FCEDC has officially moved its staff and operations to 611 W. Russell St. The 35,800- square-foot center was previously home to Homemakers Furniture and Interiors. Renovations began in the fall of 2025 and are expected to be completed in the next six to eight months. Currently, FCEDC staff are working within an open 7,500-square-foot floor plan as initial improvements progress.
Inset: Systel’s first corporate headquarters was a small rental house turned office on Fort Bragg Road in Fayetteville in 1981. Large photo: The company’s new corporate headquarters reflects years of growth into a multi-million dollar company that pr
