The federal Surface Transportation Board gave the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railroad an approval in 2006 to reconstruct its existing line across Minnesota and South Dakota and extend its existing line an additional 280 miles to Wyoming Power River Basin coal fields. The reconstruction of the existing rail line was necessary to accommodate the coal freights. As a sub-consultant to HDR, Inc., HZ United was hired to assess the conditions of all existing 2000 culverts and 270 bridges within its 600 miles reconstruction limits, make recommendations for improvements based on hydrologic and hydraulic analysis, and perform hydraulics feasibility analysis for alternative route developments. HZ United also prepared hydraulics reports as part of the environmental documents following the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.
HZ United completed tasks and documented findings that were used as part of the project EIS. The project failed to secure the federal funding and was subsequently cancelled in 2008.
