Railroad Construction Co. has completed nearly seventy-five percent of the work on the massive Colonial Road Design / Build Improvement Project. This $25 million contract with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority-Long Island Rail Road will replace a steel truss bridge and add a pocket track.
A focal point of the project was the removal of the nearly 120 year old bridge. The 120’ long structure was lifted in three sections using a 300 ton crane. The demolition required one weekend track outage for the LIRR trains running under the bridge. In advance of the shutdown, the bridge was prepped with specialized rigging and the fiber optic cables located under the span were protected, all while the trains were still in service.
Footings and foundations have been built for the new 324’ long, precast concrete bridge. Installation of the bridge was recently completed as well. Construction of the span required two successive weekend track outages. The new structure is made up of eighty-four precast arch units, each one delivered to the site on a separate truck. The space to accommodate forty-two oversized trucks and the crane in a residential area created quite a logistical problem but we were able to access a number of local church, school and community center parking lots to serve as staging areas. By adhering to a strict schedule of deliveries, Railroad Construction Co. was able to get each truck in and out of the jobsite with very little impact to the surrounding neighborhood.
Sitework and drainage improvement work continues. Over 1,600 LF of new retaining walls and 2,400 LF of below-grade HDPE drainage piping are in the process of being installed.
A major element of the contract involves the extension and realignment of the road which traveled over the existing bridge. With the addition of the arched bridgework, the roadway will now be extended by nearly 200’ in a gentle, sloping curve. The concrete deck pour for roadway slabs and approaches is ongoing. The new road is scheduled to open to traffic on April 30, 2016. Construction of the pocket track will begin shortly after with the entire job completed by June 2016.
We wish to thank Dan Knote, Robert Haynie and their team at LIRR, George Assis, Kamal Shahid, Joe Ferrara and Robert Severance of KSE and Robert Severance of KSP/WSP for their assistance on this exciting job.