Project Team Overcomes Foundational Design Challenges

STAMFORD from page 1

320-ft. pedestrian bridge over Washington Boulevard connecting the garage to the Stamford Transportation Center (STC), elevators and stairs connecting the garage to the Track 5 platform, 38 electric vehicle parking spaces, more than 100 bike storage spaces, a centralized STC parking management space and customer counter, a unique architectural design and façade lighting program, building-integrated photovoltaics for on-site energy production, minor STC renovations at the pedestrian bridge connection, pedestrian crossing improvements at South State Street and Washington Boulevard and connectivity to the planned Mill River Greenway.

The project, financed 100 percent by the State of Connecticut, is being completed under CTDOT’s Alternative Project Delivery program.

“The project is replacing the aging original parking garage structure for the STC [currently located on Station Place] with a low maintenance, long service life facility that meets the demand for state-owned commuter parking spaces located proximate to the STC,” said Michael Mendick, CCM, district engineer, CTDOT. “It addresses the poor condition and continued degradation of the original garage structure that precipitated the closing of two levels of the garage to traffic and parking; satisfies existing commuter parking demands; replaces the loss of private commuter parking supply for the STC with stateowned and maintained parking spaces that provide similar convenience and commuter amenity as the existing private parking facilities; and meets customer expectations for availability, accessibility, and convenience of commuter parking accommodations of the STC.”

The new garage will provide a net increase of approximately 600 state-owned spaces following the demolition of the original 1987 garage.

Parking has been maintained in the original parking garage structure throughout construction of the new to help

Yonkers Contracting Company Inc. started work on the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s (CTDOT) $77.2 million, design-build Stamford Station Parking Garage project minimize commuter parking impacts.

“The original garage will be closed upon completion of the proposed garage and will be demolished in the future under a separate construction contract,” said Mendick. “The department previously pursued a new parking project for the STC as part of a transit-oriented development [TOD]. The current project is not a TOD project.”

Traffic-wise, the construction has led to temporary detours and short-term lane closures to facilitate operations.

The rectangular-shaped concrete garage is adjacent to the highway. As of February, for the garage itself, the precast concrete erection is complete; and structural steel installation for the elevators, support steel installation for the architectural facade, office space construction, building systems installations and site work are ongoing.

For the pedestrian bridge, pier construction is complete, steel structure is being fabricated off site, and the erection of the steel structure is planned to begin in May. Station renovations are ongoing.

Development of the design-build project, via Walker Consultants, began in June 2021.

“Some of the engineering challenges were the geotechnical and ground conditions,” said Tim Caulfield, Yonkers project manager. “The foundations had to be into rock, but the rock elevations varied from 40 feet deep on the west side to 6 feet deep on the east side. The challenge was coming up with the correct foundation design. There was no blasting. We drilled 42-inch diameter shafts through earth and rock. In some areas, we put the foundation directly on the rock without drilling into it. Basically, the garage has two different foundation designs.” see STAMFORD page 22

The garage, which has an anticipated lifespan of 75 years, consists mostly of precast concrete panels, and was designed to minimize any cast-in-place concrete.

“We are using GRFC panels at the three stair towers, glass on the one elevator tower and metal baskets around the rest of the garage to complete the architectural look,” said Caulfield.

With six months to go to completion, the location of the work site remains a challenge.

“The northside is adjacent to I-95, one of the busiest highways in the country,” said Caulfield. “And on the southside is the railroad that serves one of the busiest train stations in the country. If that’s not enough, there is an active roadway and sidewalk underneath the construction. There’s no room to store material or much of anything. The project is very close on schedule and the DOT understands our work conditions."

With six months to go to completion, the location of the work site remains a challenge.