441
59
75
GEORGIA STATE EDITION
Cornella 19
A Supplement to:
Rome 85 27
Athens 441
Atlanta
20
Madison Augusta
85
20
Griffin 1
129
Milledgeville
75
La Grange
Macon
301
185 19
16
Dublin
Swainsboro Oak Park
Columbus
Statesboro
341 441 16
Lyons Americus
June 12 2013 Vol. XV • No. 12
301
1
82
Dorchester
341
Cuthbert
75
Albany
84
Douglas Tifton
82
95
82
Blakely
Pearson
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Savannah
McRae Cordele
27
27 84
Moultrie
19 319
84
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Waycross Brunswick 82
1 441
Your Georgia Connection: Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479
Construction Under Way on Atlanta Streetcar Line By Cindy Riley CEG CORRESPONDENT
After years of planning, the Atlanta streetcar project is finally becoming a reality. Construction is under way on the 2.7 mi. (4.3 km) system that, when complete, will cost close to $100 million. “Actually seeing tracks being laid and sidewalks being rebuilt is thrilling and a major step for the city of Atlanta,” said Tom Weyandt, senior policy advisor of transportation, office of the mayor. “The major federal funding was announced in October 2010, and since then we have been engaged in the final design, contractor selection, real estate and utilities prep work. Now that guideway construction is underway, one can actually get the vision for the final product.” The Atlanta streetcar will be a Siemens S70 vehicle powered by a single overhead trolley wire. In mid-May, 2013 Siemens Inc. delivered two massive traction power substations (TPSS) which will power part of the streetcar. The TPSS is a 750-volt DC power substation that was commissioned, designed and tested by Siemens. Once installed, the substation will send electric current to the catenary system of overhead wires used to supply electricity to the streetcar. The substation allows the overhead wires to pick up electrical current to power the engines. Each power substation is 40 ft. (12.2 m) long, 14.5 ft. (4.4 m) wide, 11 ft. (3.4 m) tall and weighs 80,000 lbs. (36,287.4 kg). While enthusiasm is high for the project, it’s already had its share of challenges, according to Weyandt. “It’s been more complicated than we anticipated. The streetcar is being built in some of the oldest parts of downtown Atlanta connecting the historic Martin Luther King Jr. district and historic Auburn Avenue through the Central Business District to Centennial Olympic Park and back through Fairlie-Poplar. More than 15 different private utilities plus the public water and sewer system have facilities that were impacted to some degree — some rather minor, but others enormously complicated. Some we (URS team photo) didn’t discover until we opened A construction worker places aggregate base for the new streetcar line.
(URS team photo)
Crews place concrete for the Atlanta streetcar line.
the street. In addition, we discovered some basements extending under sidewalks which were previously unknown. “Since the utilities were often working in many places at once, this was particularly complicated. Now that guideway construction is underway, I think the traffic control issue is easier. It’s still disruptive, but manageable, since the contractor is in and out of relatively small sections of the alignment fairly quickly. The patience of the folks along the route has clearly been tested, but they have been cooperative and eager to see the project happen,” said Weyandt. As opposed to light rail transit systems that usually run on tracks separated from the roads, streetcars run on rails set into the road surface. Streetcars share the road with private see STREETCAR page 6