Railroad Construction Co. is currently putting the finishing touches on a multi-million dollar contract with the Metropolitan Transit Authority Capital Construction (MTACC) for track work at Harold Interlocking in Long Island City, NY.  The work is taking place in one of the busiest areas for rail traffic in the country: over 700 cars are moved through the interlocking daily.  This project, scheduled for completion in early 2016, will provide infrastructure improvements and a new yard configuration, improving the flow of traffic for the Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak.     

Nearly 1,300’ of track was removed and disposed of and 300’ of retaining wall and signal trough was demolished.  2,400’ of existing track panels were removed and salvaged for future use.  A total of 1,200’ of new track is being constructed along with 2,400’ of new track bed.

The limited site access required some creative problem solving.  Chutes and conveyors were set up from the jobsite to 48th Street below the railyard.  All subgrade material was then delivered via conveyor from street level up to the site while construction debris was lowered by chute into trucks for removal.  The street remained closed to traffic during these operations.  All work is taking place during weekend outages in order to minimize disruptions to the yard’s activities and the general public.

Based on our work for this project, MTACC has awarded Railroad Construction Co. an additional contract to relocate almost twenty-five miles of track and 4,000 concrete ties.

We would like to thank Andy Nigro and Ray Bush of MTACC-ESA Construction Management and our subcontractors and suppliers for their assistance thus far.