An indexed bid notice says a mandatory pre-bid meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at the bridge site, with signed bids due by 4 p.m. Friday, August 14. The project remains in the contractor-solicitation stage. No construction award, selected contractor or construction start date is confirmed in the available records.

Work planned at the Passaic River bridge

A June 17 New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection bulletin identifies the project as NYS&W Railway Bridge MP 21.69 over the Passaic River in Paterson. The agency lists an application submitted by NYS&W for bridge scour protection.

The documented work is the installation of riprap around the bridge piers. Riprap is rock placed to help protect bridge supports from scour, the erosion or removal of riverbed and bank material caused by moving water.

NJDEP says the work will disturb the riparian zone, state open water and the bridge’s southern abutment. The application is listed under a flood-hazard general permit for scour protection at bridges and culverts and a freshwater-wetlands general permit for very minor road crossings. The application was received and marked administratively complete on June 8, 2026.

The NJDEP record describes the environmental application and scope. It does not establish a construction start date or confirm road closures, river-access restrictions, rail-service interruptions, noise limits or other public impacts.

State grant covers most of the estimated cost

NJDOT’s FY24 Rail Freight Assistance Program lists the rehabilitation of Bridge 21.69 over the Passaic River as a $4,860,000 project. The record identifies Hawthorne Borough as the municipality, NYS&W Railway Corp. as the recipient and provides $4,374,000 in grant funding plus a $486,000 state share.

The grant record establishes the project’s estimated cost and public funding structure. It does not establish that the full amount has been spent or that a construction contract has been awarded.

What residents know now

The indexed bid notice identifies two immediate procurement milestones: the mandatory pre-bid meeting on August 5 and the signed-bid deadline on August 14. Because the original NYS&W bid package was not available in the supplied records, the available evidence does not establish the project’s detailed construction schedule, work hours, access arrangements or effects on rail, road or river use.

Those details may be addressed in the original bid package, later addenda, an award notice or a construction announcement. Until then, residents and businesses near the Passaic River crossing should not assume that closures or service interruptions have been scheduled.

Next step is bid review

After bids are submitted, NYS&W would generally review the proposals and determine whether to make an award. Any contractor selection, notice to proceed and construction schedule remain unconfirmed in the records reviewed for this article.

For Paterson, the immediate development is the move from environmental application activity to competitive bidding for a publicly supported rail-bridge rehabilitation project. The next listed milestone is the 4 p.m. August 14 signed-bid deadline.

Sources

• NJDEP Land Use Permits and Applications, June 17, 2026
• NJDOT FY24 Rail Freight Assistance Program Grants
• Bridge 21.69 bid notice indexed for Paterson

JobsOhio’s March 2026 executed-project report lists Kalmbach Feeds Inc. with 213 projected new jobs, $14,363,357 in projected new annual payroll, 546 retained jobs and $125 million in fixed-asset investment. The report says the agreement was fully executed during March 2026, but cautions that the figures are company commitments subject to possible project modifications.

A project spanning Upper Sandusky and Carey

An Ohio Tax Credit Authority scope of work identifies the project in the City of Upper Sandusky and Village of Carey, both in Wyandot County. It describes construction of a new pet-food manufacturing facility, including new machinery and equipment, to expand Kalmbach’s current operations. The document describes the plant as proposed, not completed.

The scope says Ohio was competing with Mississippi for the project and that state support was intended to help ensure it moves forward in Ohio. The scope is a general description of the overall project and says it will not be used to determine compliance under the tax-credit agreement.

The Ohio Rail Development Commission’s July 24, 2025 project packet places the planned pet-food facility at Kalmbach’s northern MPK Feeds Plant, less than three miles from the company’s southern REK Feed Mill. The packet identifies three Kalmbach plants in the Upper Sandusky area: the MPK Feeds Plant, the central Upper Feed Plant and the REK Feed Mill.

Jobs and payroll targets run through 2029

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a 1.569 percent, nine-year tax credit for Kalmbach on December 15, 2025. The scope says the company expects to create 213 full-time-equivalent employees, generate $14,363,357 in new annual payroll and retain $51,172,386 in existing payroll at the project location by December 31, 2029.

The tax-credit agreement also requires Kalmbach to maintain operations at the project location for at least 12 years. The December 31, 2029 figures are performance targets described in the project scope, not evidence that the jobs or payroll have already been delivered.

The retained-employment figures vary by program record. JobsOhio lists 546 retained jobs, while the Ohio Rail Development Commission materials cite 509 retained jobs. Those numbers are attributed to separate agreements and should not be treated as one standardized measure.

Rail siding would connect feed and pet-food operations

On July 24, 2025, the Ohio Rail Development Commission approved assistance of up to $300,000 for a new siding at the REK Feed Mill near Upper Sandusky. The ORDC packet estimates the rail portion at $5.6 million and identifies a total project cost of approximately $7.5 million for the rail-related project, with Kalmbach responsible for costs beyond the state assistance.

The planned siding would serve the feed mill and connect by transloading to the proposed pet-food facility at the MPK site. Under the project description, inbound materials would arrive by rail at a planned rail receiving and transload facility at REK, move by truck to the pet-food plant, and then be processed, packaged and shipped to customers by truck.

Kalmbach’s rail-project commitment is to ship or receive 400 additional rail carloads per year. The ORDC materials also connect the rail work with commitments to create 213 jobs and retain 509 jobs in Upper Sandusky-area operations.

What residents can verify next

For workers and local businesses, the proposal could mean additional industrial activity, hiring and freight movements if the company meets its commitments. The records do not establish that construction is complete, that the pet-food facility is operating or that all 213 jobs have been filled.

The public record currently shows approved or executed assistance and projected outcomes. Future permitting, construction, hiring and rail-operations updates will show how the proposal advances toward its December 31, 2029 employment and payroll horizon.

Sources

• JobsOhio Monthly Executed Grants and Loans Report: March 2026
• Ohio Tax Credit Authority scope of work for Kalmbach Feeds
• Ohio Rail Development Commission July 24, 2025 meeting packet, Resolution 25-19
• WKTN: Kalmbach Feeds awarded $300K rail grant

The agreement is contingent on approval by the Surface Transportation Board and completion of the merger. The STB has not approved the deal. Instead, the agency is holding the proceeding in abeyance while it seeks additional information from the applicants.

What CN would receive

Under the binding memorandum of understanding, CN would receive access to certain facilities where the merger could reduce railroad choices from two to one or from three to two. The agreement also provides for CN ownership interests in the Kansas City Terminal Railway and the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis.

CN would gain additional Midwest operating rights between Tuscola, Illinois, and East St. Louis, Illinois, as well as customer rights between St. Louis, Missouri, and Kansas City, Missouri. The agreement also includes use of Union Pacific’s Neff Yard in Kansas City.

Those provisions are intended to preserve or expand access for some shippers, but they do not automatically guarantee lower freight rates, better service or broader competition.

Why the proposed merger matters

Union Pacific’s proposed purchase of Norfolk Southern would combine two major freight railroads and create what the Associated Press described as the first U.S. transcontinental railroad. AP reported that the proposed company could account for more than 40% of U.S. rail traffic and reduce the number of major U.S. freight railroads to five. That is a projection or characterization of the proposed combination, not a final market outcome.

The scale of the transaction is central to the regulatory debate. Railroads, shippers, employees and communities could be affected by changes in routes, terminals, car supply, service levels, employment and the bargaining position of customers that depend on freight rail.

CN’s agreement strengthens Union Pacific’s position, but it is not industry-wide support. BNSF and Canadian Pacific Kansas City oppose the transaction, while CSX has raised concerns about its effect on competition.

What regulators are still examining

The STB accepted a revised Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern application for consideration on May 28, 2026. That was a procedural decision about whether the revised filing was complete enough for consideration; it was not a decision that the merger serves the public interest.

The agency then placed the proceeding, including environmental review, in abeyance and required supplemental information. Its requests cover enhanced competition, access for two-to-one and three-to-two shippers, public-benefit calculations, service assurances, gateways and car supply, market-share projections, downstream effects, passenger rail and supporting workpapers.

The STB’s merger resources page lists a supplemental response and redesignated employee-impact exhibits filed on July 27, 2026. The agency has not yet established the next procedural schedule.

What happens next

For shippers, the immediate issue is not a change in rail service but the terms and evidence that will shape the federal review. The proposed access and terminal arrangements could affect some customers and competing railroads if the merger is approved, while the broader effects on rates, reliability, jobs and supply chains remain uncertain.

The next major milestone is a future STB decision setting the remaining review schedule. Until the agency issues a final approval and the companies complete closing requirements, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern remain separate companies.

Sources

• Surface Transportation Board merger docket
• Canadian National-Union Pacific agreement
• Associated Press coverage