BergerWorld: 3rd Quarter 2008

The Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern (DM&E) Railroad began operations in 1986 to transport freight. By 1996, DM&E had hauled nearly 500,000 carloads of freight, including more than 700 million bushels of grain. Today, it is one of the largest regional railroads in the United States, with 1,103 miles of track, extending from the Mississippi River in Winona, Minnesota, across southern Minnesota and central South Dakota.

The Berger Group was selected by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to provide cultural resource investigations associated with the construction of DM&E's $6 billion Powder River Expansion, extending the existing rail network 260 miles into the coal fields of the Powder River Basin in eastern Wyoming and rehabilitating 600 miles of existing rail across South Dakota and Minnesota. The existing single-track line in Minnesota and South Dakota, most of it built between 1860 and 1910, will be rehabilitated to meet requirements for transporting heavier loads of coal and other commodities, while the route selected for new construction in South Dakota and Wyoming will cross rough terrain with unstable bedrock. Berger's duties include providing technical support for DM&E's contractors and assisting STB in consultation with several cooperating state and federal agencies and more than 30 Indian Tribes.

The project is expected to potentially impact hundreds of important cultural resources ranging from prehistoric Native American campsites to historic migration routes and railroad bridges. Moreover, the existing 589-mile railroad line between Winona, Minnesota, and Wall, South Dakota, is considered eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district, thus focusing attention on more than 500 structures and buildings along the line that contribute to its historic character, including several impressive stone-arch culverts built during the 1860s with massive cut-limestone blocks, more than 130 steel bridges and a dozen depots and passenger stations. Alterations to these structures, ranging from minor repairs to total replacement, are being reviewed to minimize impacts to the railroad's historic character as the line is upgraded to help meet the nation's demand for cleaner burning coal. The network is scheduled to be fully operational by 2010.