Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Project
Location: South Dakota, Wyoming and Minnesota
Client: Surface Transportation Board, Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern (DM&E) Railroad Corp.
Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern (DM&E) Railroad Corp.'s 280-mile expansion of its railroad line is the largest new rail construction project since 1900. The expansion also includes the upgrade of the existing mainline through South Dakota and Minnesota.
The purpose of the $1.2 billion extension is to allow DM&E access to low-sulfur coal reserves in Wyoming's Powder River Basin for shipment to Midwestern utilities. The Burns & McDonnell team is serving as third-party contractor to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) for preparation of the necessary Environmental Impact Statement for the project.
To prepare the EIS document, SEA, cooperating agencies and Burns & McDonnell are working with Native American tribes to prepare a programmatic agreement for cultural resources; review hundreds of scoping comments; and collect data on the project area.
