NORWICH – The County of Chenango Industrial Development Agency has been notified by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) of its intent to provide $4.718 million to the CCIDA’s Utica Main Rail Line Revitalization project, subject to CCIDA providing additional information and verifying local funding commitments.

The CCIDA has indicated that there is still much work to complete in order to fulfill the EDA’s funding requirements. For instance, the provisional approval requires that a funding share of approximately $407,000 be raised to assist with the completion of the $5.897 million reconstruction project. CCIDA officials have discussed this requirement with several potential funders and key stakeholders; to date, no solid commitments have been made to the project.

Additionally, CCIDA continues to work with local and regional businesses to examine and quantify new business opportunities for the rail line. Potential natural gas development in the Southern Tier provides the largest opportunity for traffic increases on the line. However, New York State continues to postpone action to allow the issuance of natural gas drilling permits.