[PRCo] Re: [Fwd: Transnet 113]

[roger]

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Swindler" <j_swindler at hotmail.com>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2003 1:25 PM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: [Fwd: Transnet 113]


> Well,you people staightened me out on this. I called Seimens in Carson and
had to go thru 3 people before I got one that supposedly knew anything about
the cars I saw being transported thru Beaumont Ca. where I live. That person
thought the cars were diesel operated so thats where that came from. No
visible current collection devises seen on the cars due to the total tarp
covers over everthing but the wheels, that resembled PCC trucks.(no outside
truck frames) No support in middle, even tho 65--70ft long (estimated)
Anybody got a picture to look at???   cheers--Rogertrolley
> >roger asked:
> >
> >Lost in all this news is the Puerto Rico DMU  LRV line that is recieving
> >cars from Seimens in LA area who ships these cars on UP thru the Port of
> >Houston. I have seen several 89ft flat cars with these cars wrapped up in
> >canvas covers pass thru on Beaumont Hill. All you can see is the wheels
of
> >them. Two weeks ago, two more cars went east and caught them on Video.
Any
> >body know anything about this line ??? I have not seen anything about it,
> >except P.Allen Copeland , author of those PERY color books, told me that
> >was where these cars were going. cheers- Rogertrolley  PTM #1665
>
>
>
> Unless there is a second LRT line in Puerto Rico, those are electric cars,
> not DMU.  Cars assembled at Siemens plant near Sacramento.  Bill Vigrass
was
> one of the consultants working on the rolling stock for this project, I
> think in quality control.
>
>
> Would this article from Railway Age suffice??
>
> Why the lack of interest by US railfans??  Perhaps its considered
"foreign",
> even though part of US DOT budget.
>
> Would you be surprised that it is a federal "New Start" project; just like
> Pittsburgh's Overbrook line overhaul?
>
> John
>
>
>
> Railway Age
> COVER STORY TRANSIT (1/17/2000)
>
> Twisting and Turning through San Juan;  Tren Urbano brings transportation
> expertise to island and relief to its congested capital
>
> Waiting in the nonstop crush of traffic that marks the streets of the
Puerto
> Rican capital of San Juan, motorists along one 17.2-kilometer stretch can
> see a column rising in the air alongside an office building in the city's
> Hato Rey section, or the shell of a future station forming in Martinez
> Nadal, or bridge segments rolling along a traveling truss in Bayamon. The
> tunnels, tracks and stations of the Tren Urbano mass transit system hold a
> promise of less congestion for this independent-spirited U.S. territory
and
> also a growing local experience in transportation construction for the
next
> generation.
>
> Seven contracts worth a total of $1.24 billion are in full swing for the
> first phase of Tren Urbano, Puerto Rico's first-ever turnkey design-build
> project. Those contracts, the bulk of a total $1.7-billion effort, were
> awarded in 1997 by the commonwealth's Dept. of Transportation and Public
> Works' Highway and Transportation Authority (DTPW). Since then, the
> complicated project has faced hurricanes and a steep learning curve for
> local firms teaming up with outsiders on the first major transit job to
come
> to Puerto Rico in 50 years. The challenges have forced a one-year delay in
> Tren Urbano's original 2001 projected completion date. But department
> Secretary Carlos Pesquera contends that design-build has already cut two
> years off the design phase and estimates it will save about $60 million
> during the entire first phase.
>
> The route travels through the heart of metropolitan San Juan, from Bayamon
> on the west side to Sagrado Corazon in the north (see map, p. 34). It is
> estimated that the total 30-minute, $1 ride from end to end will generate
> 100,000 daily trips in the first year. According to DTPW, there are 146
> vehicles per square mile in Puerto Rico and Tren Urbano is projected to
> absorb 45% of all private vehicle trips by 2010.
>
> OFFICE WEB More complex than actual construction, the organization of the
> Tren Urbano team is an intricate blend of contractors, DTPW officials,
> quality assurance and control consultants, designers and subcontractors.
Los
> Angeles-based Daniel, Mann, Johnson, & Mendenhall and New York City-based
> Frederic R. Harris Inc., in a joint venture with San Juan-based engineers
> Eduardo Molinari and Associates and Barrett and Hale and Associates,
signed
> a two-year, $42-million contract in 1994 with extensions for general
> management and architectural and engineering consultant services (GMAEC).
> Six of Tren Urbano's seven first-phase contracts, one a major tunneling
job,
> are awarded to joint ventures of local and international firms. The
seventh,
> a design-build-operate-maintain contract to build and supply the line's
> vehicles, systems, control center, train yard and shops and test track, is
> held by a Siemens Transportation Systems--led team."We have 150 people on
> GMAEC, not including the highway authority," notes Randy Altschuler,
> director of operations. "There are separate groups even representing the
> owner."
>
> Moreover, almost every contractor has an independent quality control firm
on
> the job, adds Chris Dixon, GMAEC's director of implementation. Two of the
> contract managers report to Dixon, while the other five report to the
fixed
> facilities manager. There are also seven managers for specialized
technical
> and professional support areas of the Tren Urbano office. "It's tough,"
> notes Steve Roescher, manager of project administration for Siemens.
> "Workshops, information dissemination; there are so many issues. But it's
> the nature of the best of design-build. You have to make changes as you go
> along...there are disagreements, but there is dialogue."
>
> HANDLING HURRICANES Dixon says most claims now under negotiation have to
do
> with site conditions, including delays from Hurricane Georges, which raked
> Puerto Rico in the fall of 1998. Other weather incidents, utility
> relocations and problems in handling concurrent delays also generated
> claims. "We'll sit down and negotiate," says Dixon. "We'll reach a
> settlement." Roescher notes that there were no unusual archeological
> conditions as originally feared, but unanticipated buried utilities have
> been problematic. "It's an aggressive schedule, there are major issues,"
he
> concedes. "The project will be 10 to 12 months late, but I don't see any
> major court disputes."
>
> Javier Mirandes, GMAEC's deputy project manager for architecture, says
> contractors work with an initial alignment drawing as well as one
reflecting
> community input. "We tell the contractor, 'you need to design to 100% with
> this concept,'" he says. The final design is up to the contractor, but the
> highway authority may step in and request changes, which also adds to
> contract extensions. Adjusting to a different culture and to a
construction
> community unfamiliar with big transit jobs also proved challenging. "We
had
> to push for quality and safety" in the beginning, says Dixon. "We're
trying
> to promote the philosophy of prevention." He says there have been three
> fatalities but no abnormally high rates of injuries.
>
> Hurricane Georges set the project timeline back. In its aftermath, "there
> was no availability of materials," says Siemens' Roescher. "Our trucks
were
> used for the Federal Emergency Management Agency." The island location
also
> limits choices of materials and equipment vendors, he adds. And with road
> and building construction active elsewhere on the island, "there are only
so
> many skilled laborers," Roescher says. "You can't just to go the next
state
> and recruit people." U.S. managers have been pulled in to help recruit and
> train residents to take on the work.
>
> PROJECT POPULAR The project nevertheless enjoys strong popular support.
> "People here favor Tren Urbano," says Jeffrey Squires, GMAEC planning
> director. "They ask how late it will go and when it will come to their
> neighborhood." The project is also a major factor in the political future
of
> Pesquera, who aspires to be governor of Puerto Rico. "The Secretary has
the
> authority to set the program...as he sees fit," says Squires. DTPW is
> funding $962 million of Tren Urbano. Other sources are a $307-million
> federal grant and an additional $400 million of U.S. transportation money
> allotted to Puerto Rico. A direct U.S. federal loan of $300 million under
> the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) last
> year was "a vote of confidence," notes Squires.
>
> "Each station is different and the corridor helps define each," says
GMAEC's
> Mirandes. Topology, neighborhood characteristics and space all factor into
> the concept given to the contractor at that station to fulfill. For
> instance, the Jardinez station is built in a retained cut to reduce impact
> on surrounding suburban streets while at Lorimar, the station is
> "half-elevated, half at grade. There is little concession space and no
> desire for major growth," says Mirandes. "We could have integrated it with
> an adjacent shopping center, but we didn't." At stops within urban cores
> such as Bayamon and Hato Rey, however, stations are built with intermodal
> connections to parking lots, ramps, garages and pedesetrian access.
>
> About 40% of Tren Urbano's total line is at grade. The rest is either
> elevated over major streets or underground, where two types of tunnels are
> being built under Rio Piedras. At Bayamon, Grupo Metro San Juan, a joint
> venture of Mexico's ICA and San Juan-based Miramar, is building a
> 2.7-km-long elevated guideway of precast concrete segments with single and
> double track spans under a $71-million contract. An overhead launching
truss
> places the segments, which vary from 21 m to 31 m because of a 90° curve
and
> approach ramps. The guideway, in one section elevated 17 ft above a
parking
> lot, passes within 20 centimeters of a basketball coliseum on one side and
> baseball stadium on the other.A joint venture of Redondo-Entrecanales
holds
> four contracts encompassing nine stations and about 13 miles of track. The
> guideway at Bayamo travels into a corridor originally meant for a highway
> and ends below grade at the Jardinez station. Siemens' systems and track
> contract include the next two stations at Torrimar and Martinez Nadal,
where
> barrel vault sections make up the roof. Adjacent to a north-south route,
the
> station will become a focal point for car and pedestrian access, says
> Mirandes. At Las Lomas, the elevated guideway resumes, but this time in
> match-cast segments of consistent depth. The station is excavated at 30 ft
> near a five-road intersection where the route continues through the Centro
> Medico complex, a major hospital.
>
> GOING UNDERGROUND The most complex alignment contract was awarded to a
joint
> venture of Omaha-based Kiewit Construction, Kenny Construction Co.,
Chicago,
> and San Antonio-based H.B. Zachry Co., with managing designer cma
Architects
> & Engineers, for $225.6 million. The Rio Piedras contract provides for the
> construction of 1.8 km of underground track with two stations beneath a
> dense urban area full of historic buildings. "There have been quite a few
> change orders," notes Vinton Garbesi, contract manager.
>
> In one 430-m section, twin tunnels are being driven with an earth pressure
> balance machine. Another 100-m tunnel section is being built using the New
> Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM). A cut-and-cover station is being put at
> the University of Puerto Rico and the Rio Piedras station is built using
> stacked drift construction methods. "It was difficult to get the alignment
> to where it had to be because of the curves," says Garbesi. The guideway
> dips underground at a steep grade to run about 80 ft beneath the
groundwater
> table and then rises to a level that provides less than 5 m of cover under
> some historic buildings. Soft soils include silts and sands mixed with
> limestone karst.
>
> The Rio Piedras Station is located in a tunnel 150 m long, 19 m wide and
16
> m high. Fifteen concrete-filled drifts form a horseshoe arch. About 3 m x
3
> m each, the drifts are sequentially excavated to form the station's
cavern.
> Soils under the arch are removed and the arch reinforced with concrete.
The
> contractor also built a grout gallery to provide access for horizontal
> grouting needed to compensate for settlement. Some 30,000 cu yd of
concrete
> was poured in 12 weeks, he says.
>
> SENSITIVITY From the Rio Piedras station to the University of Puerto Rico
> station, twin 6.3 m-dia tunnels are excavated with an earth pressure
balance
> tunnel boring machine for about 430 m and lined in one pass with precast
> concrete segments. "It was originally a two-pass system," notes Garbesi,
> "but we proposed a single-pass." The one-pass segmental lining--a
> seven-piece, 250-mm-thick, 1.2-m-wide ring gasketed and bolted--can
interact
> better with surrounding soil loads, designers say. Subsurface grouting
also
> was done between the tunnels and the spread footings of a university
> building with sensitive scientific equipment, notes Dixon. A robotic
> settlement monitoring system, including mirror prisms installed on
> buildings, also tracks earth movement every 10 minutes in the historic
> downtown. The system is so sensitive that it even records heat-generated
> building expansion.Flexibility and the proximity of two structures in
> downtown Rio Piedras dictated the NATM method for one section of four
mined
> tunnels, each about 100 m long and 6 m in diameter, says Garbesi. Two of
the
> tunnels are for future extensions.
>
> From the open cut of the university station, the route heads north into
the
> Hato Rey financial district, weaving between buildings and across
marterials
> as a 3.5-km elevated guideway. A locally based joint venture of Necso
> (formerly Intercanalas) and Redondo holds the $125.8-million contract,
which
> ends at Sagrado Corazon. Jimenez says the route was redesigned to avoid
> interfering with the median of a major avenue and to interface with a new
> coliseum being built and a transportation terminal. North of Sagrado
> Corazon, an environmental impact statement is being done for a proposed
> extension to Manillas.
>
> The $640-million seventh contract is led by Siemens, local firm Juan
Requena
> Associates and Boston-based Alternate Concepts, with a quality control
> subcontract to New York City-based Parsons Brinckerhoff and a construction
> subcontract to Redondo-Perini. The team must coordinate interface between
> adjacent alignment contracts and adjust schedules and access. The
> multidisciplinary system seems to work; operation and maintenance experts
> see things that designers and builders might miss, notes Roescher.
>
> The jury is still out on the multicontract approach to design-build,
> officials say. But they all favor a $10-million technology transfer
program
> with students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the
> University of Puerto Rico. Students have internships on every contract,
and
> several have joined Tren Urbano after graduating, says Lydia Mercado,
> program director. With future extensions planned, "we want to have enough
> locals so we don't have to import talent," she says. "I expect one of
these