NS in Hagerstown

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Thought you all would be interested in this news item from the Hagerstown 
newspaper (The Daily-Mail). The 95 acres are next to Vardo yard. The "unofficial" 
completion date of this project is near the end of 2007. As you visit this 
area be on the look out for construction progress.
 
Terry Marshall
Hagerstown, MD
 
 
 
 
 
Wednesday April 11, 2007 
Railroad project would require annexing land into the city

by DAN DEARTH  _dan.dearth at herald-mail.com_ 
(mailto:dan.dearth at herald-mail.com)   
HAGERSTOWN - Norfolk Southern railroad wants to use 95.2 acres on the south 
side of Hagerstown as a storage area to keep new vehicles until they're shipped 
to other parts of the country, according to Stuart W. Bass, the city's 
comprehensive planner.  
The land is near the intersection of Maryland Avenue and West Oak Ridge 
Drive, according to a map from the city's Planning Department.  
Bass said Tuesday after a City Council work session that the railroad intends 
to bring the vehicles to the property by rail for storage and later ship them 
out using trucks.  
 (http://ads.herald-mail.com/adclick.php?n=a42da645)  
"It would be a large parking lot with one small building," he said.  
Access to the property would be from West Oak Ridge Drive, Bass said.  
A city memo from Bass to City Administrator Bruce Zimmerman shows that the 
construction would involve grading the land and paving it. The plan also calls 
for laying new tracks to improve access to the property, and surrounding the 
area with a fence.  
The project's initial cost is estimated between $8 million and $10 million, 
Bass said.  
The City Council is required to discuss annexing the land because it is 
contiguous with city property, he said. If that happens, the city would be able to 
draw taxes from the property, Bass said.  
He did not know the amount of the taxes.  
Bass asked the council to discuss the issue further during a regularly 
scheduled council meeting April 24.  
The 2002 Washington County Comprehensive Plan designates the property as 
Urban/Industrial.  
Bass said further information, including the possible construction date, is 
unknown. 
 







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