UTA wins Hay Award at AREMA conference

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
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The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) presented the 2013 Dr. William W. Hay Award for Excellence to Utah Transit Authority (UTA) for its FrontRunner South Commuter Rail Project.

The 45-mile, $525-million FrontRunner South project included 30 bridges, two million cubic yards of earthwork, 50 miles of roadbed preparation and trackwork, 40 joint (with UP) at-grade crossings, signaling work and station construction. The FrontRunner South project is part of UTA’s FrontLines 2015 program, which is composed of five UTA rail projects that expanded the existing rail network by 70 miles. FrontLines 2015 was completed three years ahead of schedule with the opening of the Draper Line in August 2013.

In addition to the Hay Award, FrontRunner South contractors were awarded the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association’s 2012 Project of the Year, the project won Utah AGC Partnering Project of the Year in 2011; Keith Tarkalson, general superintendent and construction manager, was awarded Utah AGC Superintendent of the Year in 2011 and the project won Stacy and Witbeck’s Safest Project of the Year in 2011.

This is the 15th year for the Hay award, which recognizes an outstanding achievement in railroad engineering and honors the memory of Dr. William Hay. The 2013 contest had eight entries that were judged on three requirements: innovation, safety and project reliability.

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