Crews construct 12-ft-wide concrete support columns for the 1,600-ft-long segment of the Fresno River Viaduct. Foundation structural members are placed at 100-ft intervals.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CALIFORNIA HIGH SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY
As the California High Speed Rail Authority executes multiple contracts for California’s $62.1-billion high-speed-rail line, crews are making headway on the initial 100 miles of track. The efforts comprise a scaled-back initial plan of operation, between San Jose and north of Bakersfield, which could begin carrying passengers by 2025.
Construction commenced last summer on the $985-million Package 1 to build 29 miles of track in Madera and Fresno counties. After about two years of preconstruction, design-build joint venture Tutor Perini/Zachry/Parsons (TPZP) began work on the Fresno River Viaduct in June. The structure is just one of 52 overpasses to be built in the rail line’s first three construction packages.
Support columns for the 1,600-ft-long viaduct section needed to be “supersized,” compared to a traditional roadway overpass, because they have to remain stable under the weight of an electrified train traveling at speeds of up to 220 mph, says Whitey Gregory, structures manager for TPZP. Crews place the 12-ft-wide columns—with bent caps that flare to 17 ft, 6 in.—at approximately 100-ft intervals.
The TPZP team opted to prefabricate the 24-ft wing frames to support the railbed in the staging area and then forklift them into place. “It takes more time in the beginning, but it should make it easier as we go,” Gregory says.
Also under construction is the first of two bridges carrying one-way traffic into downtown Fresno. Crews demolished existing overpasses in sections, using a false deck to catch debris. Crews proceeded slowly because the work had to stop every time a train passed, says Toni Tinoco, information officer for the authority.
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