Illinois High Speed Rail – Tier 1 South

Project Details

In late 2015, Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) awarded Millstone Weber (MW) the Illinois High Speed Rail Tier 1 South Project which included grading, drainage, structures, and track installation for the addition of new Main Track adjacent to UPRR's existing Main Track from Shipman, IL to Godfrey, IL. The project included approximately 290,000 cubic yards of earthwork, 125,500 cubic yards of subballast installation, construction of over fifteen (15) miles of new track, construction of a 3,900 linear foot soldier pile retaining wall, rehabilitation of a structural steel bridge carrying Main and siding tracks in a seven-day track outage, reconstruction of seventeen (17) at-grade crossings, and installation of over six (6) miles of ornamental iron fence. MW began construction in early 2016 and was substantially complete with the project in late 2018.

Challenges

The project was awarded to MW in January 2016 and originally scheduled for completion in June 2017. Delays due to utility and right-of-way conflicts pushed substantial completion of the project back to October 2018. MW was able to re-phase construction activities related to the rehabilitation of two bridges on the project. Substructure work was completed ahead of planned track outages during shorter-duration track curfews, which resulted in the reduction of separate 75-day siding and 30-day Main Track bridge outages into a combined 7-day outage. This re-phasing minimized impacts to UPRR and Amtrak operations and reduced the closure period for an IDOT Roadway beneath the bridges.