Railway Interchange 2019

Accelerated Construction of Union Pacific Railroad Bridge over Kankakee River (Room 200 C)

24 Sep 19
11:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Tracks: AREMA Technical Sessions By Date- Structures, AREMA Technical Sessions By Functional Group- Structures, Technical Sessions By Day- Tuesday

The Union Pacific Railroad - Kankakee River Bridge Project upgraded two miles of existing track to accommodate the Illinois High Speed Rail Program in Wilmington, Illinois and replace three rail structures originally constructed during the early 1900s. The project constructed an eight-span, 604-foot long bridge adjacent to the existing bridge over the Kankakee River. The project included in-stream cofferdams, precast retaining walls, at-grade crossings, and jack and bore utility relocations. Multiple challenges were successfully addressed during the course of the project including obtaining an Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) permit, development of 100-year flood mitigation plans, 404 permit restrictions and extensive utility relocations. The paper will discuss the innovative and cost effective measures the project team developed to accelerate project work to maintain critical schedules resulting in construction of a temporary bridge, new substructure, and erection of the structural steel in 90 working days, nearly half the 177 working days estimated in the original progress schedule. Most importantly, a vigorous safety program was implemented to address safety concerns relevant to the temporary bridge and permanent structure towering over the Kankakee River bedrock at 20 feet and 33 feet respectively as well as work on an active railroad. Well over 40,000 work hours were completed on the project without any reportable injuries on site. The Kankakee River Bridge paper demonstrates tactics for safely addressing project setbacks to deliver an accelerated, quality finished product. *Missed this Session or want to view it again? Stop by the VirtualAREMA kiosk located in the Registration area to purchase this product today!