Rep. Denham tours Colton Crossing project in California

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
image description
HRD, Inc.

U.S. Rep. and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Jeff Denham (R-CA) joined representatives from HDR, Inc., and the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) for a tour of the Colton Crossing Rail-to-Rail Grade Separation Project.

 

The Colton Crossing is located where Union Pacific’s east/west tracks meet BNSF Railway’s (BNSF) north/south tracks in Colton, Calif. To better serve freight and passenger movement in the region, a flyover structure was constructed to elevate the UP mainline tracks approximately 35 feet above the BNSF tracks. The lines serve as a main vein to/from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and are used by Amtrak and Metrolink for passenger rail services.

Rep. Denham had the opportunity to see the flyover structure first-hand and gain insight on the stakeholders’ collaborative efforts that helped deliver the project $100 million under budget and eight months ahead of schedule. The project, as part of a public-private partnership, successfully met the tight schedule to qualify for U.S. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant funding. Other funding sources included state bonds, the railroads and Caltrans funding for environmental studies.

“Colton Crossing’s success has made transportation, travel and goods movement easier on everyone in the region” said Rep. Denham. “The project is a great example of using innovative construction methods to deliver projects of national significance ahead of schedule and below predicted costs, and I was pleased to see it firsthand.”

 

Tags: