Sebring’s Airport Rail Spur Rehab Completed

This project was made possible through a $7,900,000 FDOT grant

Sebring, FL, May 19, 2022 – The new rail—from the CSX mainline all the way to the Sebring Airport’s rail yard— is fully operational. This two‐mile-long spur feeds into Sebring’s industrial park with five ladder tracks, and supports airport tenants as well as other businesses in the area.

The back story
Sebring Regional Airport, formerly Hendrick’s Army Airfield, was originally constructed during WWII. To facilitate the construction and support base operations, a rail spur was constructed off of the CSX mainline.

Due to the small rail size (85 lbs/LF and 100 lbs/LF) and the age of the existing rail spur track (over 75 years), sections of the existing track were in poor condition and required extensive maintenance. Over the years, several maintenance projects had been undertaken to keep the track operational. These projects included repairs to switches and replacement of crossties, along with replacing over 600 crossties in 2015.

The finished airport rail project comprises a myriad of improvements
The rehabilitation of the entire rail spur includes replacement of ballast track superstructure components, special trackwork, drainage and subbase improvements, which allows continued use of the facilities with significantly reduced maintenance costs.

The project was bid in two phases to meet FDOT grant funding amounts, and possible additional future grant funding. Phase 1 included 11,400 linear feet of track reconstruction, which was completed in June of 2020. Phase 2 of the project was bid in July of 2020 and included a base bid and two bid alternates.

The base bid and a portion of Bid Alternate 1, which included the reconstruction of 7,250 linear feet of rail, were awarded to American Rail Industries in December 2020. Construction was completed in May of 2021. With the additional FDOT grant funding becoming available in the Summer of 2021, a change order for the remaining portion of Bid Alternate 1 and Bid Alternate 2, which included the reconstruction of the remaining 7,350 linear feet of rail, was issued to American Rail Industries.