CHENANGO COUNTY – Five years after initiating efforts to restore the defunct 45.5 mile-long Utica Main Line railroad, the Chenango County Industrial Development Agency expects to see repair work finally get underway this week.

The CCIDA announced Monday that the Rail Revitalization Project started in 2011 will see construction as early as Wednesday. Frontier Railroad Services, LLC of New Stanton, Penn. – the engineering firm contracted to repair the railroad – will remove brush and other debris from the tracks beginning in Sherburne before working their way south to Greene.

According to the CCIDA, pre-construction clean-up will allow access to damaged sections of track that are scheduled for repairs during the 2016 construction season. Frontier Railroad Services hopes to fill washouts, resurface bridge decks, and make other necessary repairs before freezing temperatures set in again later this year.

The final phase of the project includes replacement of several thousand rail crossties and the reactivation of crossing signals. Work is expected to carry over into the spring of 2017 with a goal of having the railroad operable by next June.

“It’s always possible that things may change, but that’s the schedule that we’re working with now,” said CCIDA Director Steve Craig. “In some cases, crews will be working literally in people’s back yards, so we want people to be aware that work is starting ... This is a project we’ve been looking forward to for more than five years. We have our funding in place and we believe we’ve met all the requirements to get started.”

The Utica Main Line is owned by the New York Susquehanna and Western Railway; however it’s been inoperable since being damaged by heavy flooding in 2006 and more so in 2011.