Walk Bridge Update Infrastructure Market n
By Chet Muckenhirn
The Cianbro/Middlesex Joint Venture Team has just completed 17 months working with the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) on the Walk Bridge Program as their Construction Manager General Contractor (CMGC) assisting with preconstruction related activities including: • Estimating • Geotechnical Investigation • Constructability Reviews • Design Review • Temporary Design & Construction Staging/Sequence Plans • Permit Applications and Template Preparation • Metro North Railroad Coordination • Utility Coordination • Right of Way Planning • Attending meetings and making presentations on all of the items listed above.
The majority of this work has taken place at the CTDOT’s District 3A office in New Haven where Cianbro is colocated with the Department, the Design Engineer HNTB, the Engineer and Construction Inspection firm (ECI) Berger Lehman, the Independent Construc-
tion Estimator (ICE) and the Program Manager Parsons Brinckerhoff. There is an additional sizeable supporting cast of Engineering Firms and Consultants that are participating in the process and providing oversight. Last November, the team completed the Emergency Fender Repair breakout package headed up by Dan Butler, Nicole Setzer and Chris Downs. In late February, we completed a significant Test Pit and Utility Location program led by Gary Waters (TMC) and Zack Perrin. We have also been awarded the Early Procurement Project to procure and deliver the six rail crossover (switches and turnouts) for the CP243 interlocking. Currently we are estimating and preparing to submit our 100-percent Guaranteed Maximum Price proposal for the CP243/Dockyard in March of 2017, with a Mid-July start of construction and a 38-month schedule. For a great overview of the Walk Bridge Program please visit www.walkbridgect.com to see what’s going on and follow along with the project. ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is undertaking the Walk Bridge Program to replace the deteriorating railroad bridge over the Norwalk River in Norwalk, Connecticut. One of the oldest movable bridges in
the country, the Walk Bridge is a critical transportation link on the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C., New York City and Boston, carrying four tracks of Metro-North Railroad, Amtrak and freight service. The Northeast Corridor is the busiest passenger rail line by ridership and service frequency in the country. It carries Metro-North Railroad’s New Haven Line, the busiest commuter rail line in America, with 125,000 passengers daily and ridership that is expected to double by 2065; Amtrak’s Acela Express, the only high-speed rail service in the nation, and Northeast Regional service; and CSX and P&W railroad freight service. The existing 120-year old swing bridge opens to provide navigational access to numerous commercial and private maritime users along the busy Norwalk River. It connects the rail line, which passes through the heart of historic South Norwalk on the west side of the river, to East Norwalk. The new bridge, currently under design, will provide safe and reliable rail service and efficiencies of rail transportation while improving navigational capacity and dependability for marine traffic. It will be a redundant structure with two independent movable spans and will be designed and constructed to be resilient and sustainable for extreme weather events including storm surges and high winds.
C I A N B R O F A L L / W I N T E R C H AT T E R
17