Track work, road closures to start April 24

Monday, April 17, 2023 - 20:09

Enterprise file photo — Melissa Hale-Spencer

Railroad crossings along the former Voorheesville Running Track will be closed at various times over the next month as upgrades are made to accommodate a Norfolk Southern specialty train. Shown is Brandle Road in Guilderland, which will experience closures on May 2, 3, and 4. 

ALBANY COUNTY — Upgrade work and road closures along the former Voorheesville Running Track is due to start at the end of the month to accommodate a 9,000-foot double-stacked train that is set to regularly run through the area.

The taxpayer-funded upgrades to the 15.5-mile track running from Delanson in Schenectady County through Altamont and merging with CSX’s line in Voorheesville is so Norfolk Southern’s trains are able to pull rail cars each carrying 80,000 pounds of automobiles from the nation’s car manufacturers. 

The specialty train is set to run twice a day, allowing Norfolk Southern to move its cargo within 35 miles of Boston without having to stop in Saratoga County to take the top stack off the train to make it through a too-low tunnel in Massachusetts.

Closures are due to take place from the end of April through mid-May, with the first at School Road in Voorheesville from April 24 to 26. 

See table for the full set closures. 

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