Skanska, as part of a joint venture, was awarded a design-build contract by Metro-North Railroad to construct the Highbridge Yard Rail Maintenance Facility in Bronx, N.Y.
The scope of work for this project included:
· design and construction of a 62,000-square-foot rail car maintenance facility with two tracks
· installation of associated maintenance and repair equipment
· construction of 8,300 square feet of office space with employee locker rooms located on the second floor
· construction of 35,000 linear feet of track along with 32 switches and an electric substation
· construction of an employee station
· management of identification, tracking and obtaining permits as required by local, state, and federal agencies
· isolating the existing active railroads from the construction site
· installation of utilities, gabion walls, and a track
· construction of the car appearance facility
· construction of the substation foundation
The car appearance facility, supported by H-piles and pile caps, required the erection of structural steel and the installation of siding, roofing, electrical and mechanical systems.
To meet the aggressive project schedule, the team used a prefabricated building to house all switchgear, transformers, rectifiers and DC switchgear. The substation was assembled, pre-wired and tested in the shop before delivery and installation.
After the new link tracks were installed, the yard tracks, switches and pedestrian overpass were installed. Once switchover was completed, removal of the old tracks began. Grading, final utility work, and start-up of the new substation occurred at this time.
Skanska completed 80 percent of the work with no impact on railroad operations.
