Port Metro Vancouver marks completion of grade separation project
In Vancouver, BC, Canada, Port Metro Vancouver and the government of Canada in have marked substantial completion of the Powell Street Grade Separation project.
In Vancouver, BC, Canada, Port Metro Vancouver and the government of Canada in have marked substantial completion of the Powell Street Grade Separation project.
Watco Companies named Dan Smith Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (EVP, COO). In this position, Dan will be responsible for overseeing the operational performance, organizational development and process improvements of Watco’s Operating Divisions.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) and the city of Gilroy have entered into a station-area funding agreement that will allow the city and CHSRA to initiate the planning process for a potential high-speed rail station in the downtown area of the city.
U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC-08) joined representatives from the Aberdeen Carolina and Western Railway (ACWR) and the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association for a tour of ACWR’s facility in Candor, N.C.
TriMet hired Dee Brookshire as executive director of finance and administration. Brookshire, who will start August 18, comes to TriMet from the Sacramento Regional Transit District (RT) where she has served as chief financial officer for the past seven years.
She will be responsible for directing the agency’s financial services; providing oversight and directing procurement and contracts, financial analysis and grants. Brookshire will continue the work of the agency’s five-year plan to ensure financial stability.
Brookshire has more than 20 years experience in public agency and private sector finance. Her background includes substantial debt restructuring and multiple bond issuances for public agencies. She has aided in successful labor negotiations for agencies with multiple bargaining units.
Brookshire lead efforts at RT in economic recovery, bringing back more efficient and cost-effective transportation services following the economic down turn. In addition to her financial experience in transit, she has worked for water and public utility districts, city government and as a public agency consultant.
Among her many community involvements, Brookshire has served on the finance committee for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and on the board of the Sacramento Business Services Center.
Dave Auxier, TriMet’s current interim CFO will stay on full time through the end of August.
Denver’s Regional Transportation District Board of Directors gave the go-ahead to move forward with the Southeast Rail Extension in Douglas County, authorizing a $207 million extension of the existing line farther south into Lone Tree.
As Congress considers legislation to avoid a shortfall of the Highway Trust Fund, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and 11 of his predecessors wrote an open letter to Congress.
All Aboard Florida revealed designs for its new West Palm Beach station, planned and designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP in association with Zyscovich Architects.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit’s (NYCT) Fix&Fortify Sandy recovery work is returning to the G Greenpoint Tube for five consecutive weeks, beginning July 25 and ending September 2.
The Connecticut State Bond Commission plans to approve $2.75 million for the Connecticut Department of Transportation to hire a consultant to complete the engineering, design and environmental permitting to develop the site of the new Barnum Train Station on Bridgeport’s East Side.
Sound Transit‘s Link light-rail service in Seattle, Wash., celebrated its fifth anniversary July 18.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Board of Directors authorized MassDOT Secretary and Chief Executive Officer Richard Davey to execute an agreement to purchase the Berkshire Line from the Housatonic Railroad Company, a step toward delivering passenger rail service between New York City and the Berkshires.
President Obama spoke at the Port of Wilmington in Delaware on July 17 to announce a new executive action to create the Build America Investment Initiative, a government-wide initiative to increase infrastructure investment and economic growth by engaging with state and local governments and private sector investors to encourage collaboration, expand the market for public-private partnerships (PPPs) and put federal credit programs to greater use.
Due to overhead wire, track and station improvement projects, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) Trolley Routes 10, 11, 13, 34 and 36 will not operate in the Center City tunnel from 10 p.m. on Friday, August 1, through 4 a.m. on Monday, August 18.
During the closure, SEPTA’s in-house Engineering, Maintenance & Construction Division crews will work around-the-clock on key maintenance and construction tasks to improve safety and service reliability.
Members of SEPTA’s Track Department will work inside the tunnel, as well as outside at the 40th Street Portal. Crews will weld together long rail strings and install more than 14,000 feet of new rail on the eastbound track of the tunnel from the Portal to 22nd Street Station. At the Portal, crews will also replace two concrete-embedded track switches. This work will include demolishing existing concrete surface track and steel, constructing new track switches and pouring the new concrete surface.
SEPTA’s Power Department will replace nearly 24,000 feet of worn overhead contact wire throughout the tunnel and almost 5,000 feet of wire support assemblies and protection board on the westbound side of the tunnel between 19th and 30th Street Stations.
“This blitz concept is used in the transportation industry because it allows organizations to maximize productivity during improvements projects while minimizing the period of inconvenience to passengers and communities we serve. This is especially true when there is a single track operation, like our trolley tunnel,” said SEPTA Deputy General Manager Jeff Knueppel. “Because the Center City tunnel is used 24 hours a day and is a five-mile, single track operation, it is difficult for our crews to get productive work windows. Without this blitz and 17-day closure, we’d have months of nighttime and weekend shutdowns to complete all of the projects.”
Other work that will be completed during the trolley closure includes replacing worn track components and cleaning the track drains and stormwater system throughout the tunnel; completing maintenance work on the tunnel’s signal system and on key components near 34th and Ludlow, where the Route 10 separates from Routes 11, 13, 34 and 36; testing back-up and emergency lighting cables and making numerous station repairs and improvements such as on stairs, lighting and platforms.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Prendergast and United Transportation Union (UTU) President Anthony Simon, representing a coalition of eight Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) labor unions, have agreed to settle a four-year-old contract dispute between the MTA and the unions.
AECOM Technology Corporation and URS Corporation have executed a definitive agreement under which AECOM will acquire URS.
More than $25.5 million in state capital investments has been awarded for a major grade separation project in Aurora, Ill. The project will improve traffic flow and safety at the U.S. Route 34 and Canadian National crossing and create 370 jobs.
“Soon motorists on Ogden Avenue won’t have to wait for passing trains at this heavily traveled crossing,” Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said. “This grade separation project will make it easier and safer to travel in Aurora and create jobs for our hardworking residents to help drive Illinois’ economy forward.”
A bridge carrying U.S. Route 34 (Ogden Avenue) will be built over the Canadian National tracks. The project will include retaining walls, new pavement, noise abatement and traffic signals. Herlihy Mid-Continent Company of Romeoville was the lowest of seven bidders for the job with a quote of $25,523,407. Construction will begin this summer and will be managed by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
The average daily traffic volume along U.S. Route 34 at the CN crossing is 31,200 vehicles per day with an average of 42 trains per day. Based on an Environmental Impact Statement, this crossing experiences a total vehicle delay of nearly 73 hours per day. The project will eliminate those delays and reduce the potential for train, vehicle and bicycle accidents by eliminating the at-grade crossing. The work will also enhance emergency vehicle response times in Aurora and the surrounding communities.
The Aurora project is part of Governor Quinn’s $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! program, which will support more than 439,000 jobs over six years.
Wisconsin has moved closer to purchasing a 70-mile segment of rail line between Madison to Reedsburg and Madison to Cottage Grove, says Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.