Union Pacific is seeking to buy Norfolk Southern in a $85 billion deal that would create the first transcontinental railroad in the U.S, and potentially trigger a final wave of rail mergers across the country.

OMAHA, NEB. — Union Pacific Corp. has agreed to acquire Norfolk Southern Corp. for $85 billion, a merger that would unite two of North America’s Class I freight railroads and major US-based grain shippers to create the country’s first transcontinental railroad.

Norfolk Southern has significant infrastructure and history ties to Petersburg. Will its merger with Union Pacific untie those ties in any way?