It’s not just trains that are on fast tracks in Pennsylvania.
The $1.1-million job just completed on Stafford Avenue in Scranton, PA, will not only replace a bridge that was demolished more than a decade ago — thereby restoring the Laurel Line rail link from Scranton to Montage, PA — but also it was a project that was designed and built very quickly.
In fact, according to Dave Krisanda, community relations coordinator of Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) District 4, the project “went from the conceptual stage to the final design and project delivery in only four months.”
The Project’s History
Pat McCabe, PennDOT senior project construction manager, described the background to this unusual undertaking.
“In 1988, a wooden deck highway bridge over a then abandoned railway line was removed and backfilled to avoid the cost of a new bridge,” he began. “There was a stipulation, however, from the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission, which governs highway/rail interfaces in Pennsylvania, that if a railroad wanted to resume rail service, the bridge must be replaced. Early in 2001, the Lackawanna County Rail Authority purchased the dormant rail line. PennDOT was therefore called on to restore the bridge.”
Project design complimented the adjacent Crown Avenue Tunnel, which was constructed in l904 and, at just under a mile long, is the longest inter-urban railway tunnel in the country, said McCabe. “Decorative coping with a date etched above the portal matches those on the tunnel and in 2002 a historic trolley will take tourists from downtown Scranton to the Montage Recreational Area through this site. Therefore, particular attention was paid to both aesthetics for the tourists and to accommodating the electrification of this line with an overhead catenary wire to power trolleys that will be running beneath the bridge,” he said.
The Stafford Avenue project also included reconstruction of approach highways and drainage work. Goodkind and O’Dea Consultants, of Carlisle, PA, designed the bridge, for $l93,000. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided the funding for the project.
The Project’s Description
Linde Enterprises Inc, headquartered in Honesdale, PA, was the prime contractor for the project, and site work began in March of 2001.
“The job involved installation of a 75-ft. long cast-in-place box culvert 21 ft. wide by 24 ft. 10 in. high with 185 ft. of U-channel approaches, as well as 130 linear ft. of retaining walls. Also, there was approximately 400 ft. of roadway reconstruction and associated storm water collection system, both inside the box and at road level, and the gas lines were relocated to under the structure and water lines were relocated around the structure at road level,” said Thomas Bailey, Linde Enterprises Inc.’s superintendent.
The company had approximately 15 to 20 workers on site daily, including supervisory personnel, operators, laborers, carpenters and masons, said Bailey.
Excavation consisted of 34 cu. yds. (25.9 cu m) of Class 2 category; 95 cu. yds. (72.6 cu m) of Class 4; 4,400 cu. yds. (3364 cu m) of Class 3; 1,200 cu. yds. (917.4 cu m) of Select Borrow; 169 cu. yds. (129.2 cu m) of Class 1; and 12 cu. yds. (9.1 cu m) of Class 1B.
Excavators used on the job by Linde Enterprises included a John Deere 892-E with an NPK E 220 hydraulic breaker, a Caterpillar 215-C with an NPK 10-X B hydraulic breaker and a Melroe/Bobcat 331. Also used were a Caterpillar IT-28 F and a D-30C 30-ton (27 t) articulated rock truck, an XL 4100 Gradall, a JLG lift and a P&H Omega 40-ton (36 t) crane. In addition, a Vermeer 24 by 40 Navigator horizontal directional drill was used to install 150 ft. (45.7 m) of 4-in. (10.1 cm) water line under an adjacent stream to relocate the existing line by directional bore.
The roadway was paved during the week of Sept. 24, 2001. Concrete work consisted of 10 cu. yds. (7.6 cu m) of Class C cement concrete modified; 20 cu. yds. (15.2 cu m) of Class C cement concrete modified; 41 cu. yds. (31.3 cu m) of Class AA cement concrete modified; 1,100 cu. yds. (841 cu m) of Class A cement concrete; 90 cu. yds. (68.8 cu m) of Class AAA cement concrete modified; and 475 ft. (144.7 m) of plain cement concrete curb.
Subcontractors on the project included Mountain Top Masonry, of Mountain Top, PA, who handled concrete pumping; Mid Valley Contracting, of Olyphant, PA, who carried out rebar installation; Locust Ridge Quarry, headquartered in Pocono Lake, PA, who was responsible for blacktopping; and McGovern Brothers Inc., of Wilkes-Barre, PA, who handled the installation of guide rails and fencing.
In addition, PennDOT maintenance crews assisted with pipe flushing Vactor trucks and impact attenuator (or crash trucks). The latter are an important interstate safety feature, PennDOT’s McCabe described them as “basically a previous generation model single-axle dump truck retired from snow plow service. These vehicles get a second lease on life by being retrofitted with an impact device that lowers into position when set up in a traffic pattern. A full-size electric flashing arrow is permanently mounted in the dump body as a traffic channelization aide. Ballast also is added in the dump body (rock in 55-gal. drums) to anchor the vehicle in case of impact.” Departmental brush-cutting crews also aided the contractors by maintaining clearances on the necessary detour routes.
The Project’s Challenges
Because of the nature of the job, some unusual steps had to be taken before and during construction.
PennDOT’s McCabe noted, for example, that “extensive pre-construction inspections of all adjacent structures were needed to minimize claims and identify pre-existing damage, cracks, etc. While no blasting was allowed on this project, mechanical removal was used extensively, which also produced vibration concerns.” Thus vibration monitors (seismographs) were used during mechanical rock removal to ensure there was no damage to homes situated next to the excavations. Rocky Rift Consulting Inc., based in Beach Lake, PA, carried out vibration monitoring and pre-construction inspections.
The nature of the rock encountered also posed some difficulty during excavation work. “The ’Pottsville Formation’ is an extremely hard [just below granite on the hardness scale] quartzite pebble conglomerate metamorphic rock that was very difficult to remove, especially with the blasting ban. The contractor removed the rock through creating fracture zones with an air track drill and hammering toward the relief with hydraulic rock hammers,” said McCabe.
“Concrete placement was difficult due to reach problems in the long, narrow wing walls. This was overcome through extensive use of concrete pump trucks,” said McCabe. “Coordination with the railroad also was an issue but was resolved through an excellent relationship between the Lackawanna County Railroad Authority and PennDOT that assured daily communication to head off any problems.”
Linde Enterprise’s Bailey added, “Maintaining traffic flow through the work area was another difficulty we encountered. To control flow, construction was done in phases and various traffic patterns were utilized. We also had to overcome restricted access to the site due to the close proximity of houses. This required modifying the construction sequence while one house that is extremely close to the excavation required delicate shoring and monitoring.
“Unanticipated ground water also was a problem,” he continued. “This was overcome by the design and construction of additional drainage systems. Finally, to accommodate the tight schedule we were under, we utilized double shifts for the concrete construction.”
Laurel Line Now in Operation
Delta Railroad Construction Inc., headquartered in Ashtabula, OH, handled rehabilitation of the railroad. PennDOT’s Krisanda said, “Lackawanna County’s restoration of the line was accomplished with the assistance of PennDOT’s Bureau of Rail Freight at a cost of $3 million, which was in addition to the cost of the Stafford Avenue project itself. Funding for the railroad restoration project was split between state and county sources — 75 and 25 percent, respectively,” he said, adding that the restoration was a joint project of Lackawanna County’s Commissioners and the Railroad Authority.
“Rehabilitation of the line from Brady Yard in Scranton to Montage Mountain Road in Moosic included tunnel work involving laying 3.5 mi. of new No. 115 rail and installing 9,000 new cross ties and four new switches, as well as construction of a new siding at the Pennsylvania Visitors Center,” said Joseph V. Buccieri, Delta’s project manager.
“All of our equipment was rail-mounted, except for a Caterpillar IT28 wheel loader and a Kenworth Prentice loader,” Buccieri said. “Some of the bigger pieces we utilized for the job included a Tamper Mark IV, which we used for the final surfacing of the track. We also employed a Kershaw ballast regulator, a Nordco model C spike driver and a Tamper TR10 for installing new cross ties.”
Delta Railroad Construction had l0 to 20 craft people on the project from March to November, Buccieri said. “We moved 10,000 cu. yds. of material from the tunnel and old right-of-way, stockpiling it all at Montage Mountain Road. About 10,000 sq. ft. of shotcrete repair and 411 rock dowels were completed inside the tunnel. However, we experienced no major problems except during the removal of 5,800 cu. yds. of old ballast from inside the tunnel, which was a very slow process due to there being only one way into the tunnel and one way out,” he said.
Apart from that difficulty, the rehabilitation work went very smoothly. Ida L. Laurello, president of Delta Railroad Construction, believes that “The project was a great success due to the planning of all the subcontractors and the eminent help of the owner, Lackawanna County Railroad Authority.”
The Laurel Line officially opened on Nov. 19, 2001, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring a Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad locomotive. A freight train running on the line is now servicing the Compression Polymers plant in Moosic, PA, and soon it will be possible to enjoy trolley excursions.
About the Companies
Linde Enterprise Inc. is a family-owned business. Founded in 1965, it is a heavy construction and utility contractor with 150 employees. Working in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York state, the company offers its clients site development, dams and wastewater treatment systems and heavy-highway and bridge projects, as well as directional boring, civil works and industrial plant construction. A recipient of the PUCA Safety Award in 1998, Linde Enterprise Inc.’s projects have reached a total value of more than $300 million.
Past jobs include infrastructure construction for Pennsylvania Energy Inc.’s Power Park site in Lackawanna County, PA. An $8.9-million job, the fast-track contract called for the preparation of more than 80 acres (32.3 ha) and involved moving more than l million cu. yds. (764,561 cu m) of earth and rock and installing steam, water and gas lines and sanitary and storm sewer systems. As a result, the occupants of this industrial park will benefit from low-cost electricity and steam energy generated from new technology that allows a combination of natural gas and methane gas to be used for these services.
Another project involved the Dickson City, PA, 204,000 sq. ft. (18,952 sq m) super center for Walmart. This $5.5-million job was another fast-track contract that called for site preparation, utilities, concrete curbing and the moving of more than 800,000 cu. yds. (611,649 cu m) of material, with the company averaging 35,000 to 40,000 cu. yds. (26,760 to 30,582 cu m) daily.
Linde Enterprises also handled site preparation for the $4.9-million Lowe’s Distribution Center in Pottsville, PA. A 35-acre (14.1 ha) building pad situated on a 165 acre (66.7 ha) lot, the job had Linde’s crews working around the clock, carrying out equipment maintenance between each shift, and moving 800,000 cu. yds. (611,649 cu m) of material, clearing and grubbing of trees, sewer and storm line installation and storm water management.
Delta Railroad Construction Inc. is a family-owned business, with members of the Laurello family holding office as president, general manager, shop and field superintendents and two vice presidents. Founded in 1956, the company handles all aspects of railroad construction and rehabilitation, including transit construction and industrial work. Past company projects include work for the Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Vermont and New York departments of transportation. Delta also replaced or rehabilitated track for the Wisconsin River Rail Authority and Vermont Railway and constructed new rail loading facilities for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Benning, GA.
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