CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL – CONSTRUCTION PACKAGE 4: AN ANALYSIS OF THE TECHNICAL DESIGN CHALLENGES, DESIGN EVOLUTION AND

COLLABORATIVE SOLUTIONS DEVELOPED FOR THE NEXT PHASE OF HIGH-SPEED RAIL CONSTRUCTION THAT IS UNDERWAY.

AUTHORS Principal Author:

Jon Marshall, PE Principal Engineer JMA Civil, Inc. 3930 Pacheco Blvd. Martinez, CA 94553 925.400.4356 xt. 101 jmarshall@jmacivil.com

Co-Author 1: Antonio Cañete Project Director California Rail Builders 400 N F Street Wasco, CA 93280 661.431.9133 acanete@ferrovial.us

Co-Author 2: Michael Keating

Manager of Engineering BNSF Railway 4006 E. Vine Ave. Fresno, CA 93721 360.567.8254 michael.keating@bnsf.com

Number of Words: 5,037

ABSTRACT In January 2016, the California High-Speed Rail Authority awarded Construction Package 4 (CP4) to California Rail Builders (CRB) for $444 million. CP4 consists of 21 miles of new closed-corridor double-track high-speed train (HST) guideway starting 1-mile north of the Tulare/Kern County line, through Wasco California, and ending at Poplar Ave in Kern County, north of Shafter. The HST system is designed to accommodate passenger rail service up to 220 mph. CP4 is the third package of High-Speed Rail project to be released, following CP1 and CP2-3.

The majority of the CP4 HST alignment is parallel and adjacent to the BNSF Bakersfield Subdivision main line, requiring numerous new railroad grade separations. The CP4 work includes 2 new railroad overpasses, 2 new railroad underpasses with 2 separate and adjacent railroad shooflies, 1 HST viaduct structure, 1 pedestrian underpass, 4 HST roadway underpasses and 53 utility relocations within the BNSF right-of-way.

In addition to maintaining the active BNSF freight operations, the downtown Wasco segment has an existing Amtrak station that was a key constraint for the project and added complexity to the design. This paper will emphasize the close involvement and collaboration with BNSF for the shooflies, their corresponding underpass designs, and the Wasco Viaduct, and provide specific details on how the design evolved and the innovative solutions that were developed to balance the requirements of BNSF, Amtrak and other key stakeholders to streamline the approval process and quickly move the project into construction.

STATUS OF THE HIGH-SPEED RAIL PROGRAM The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) was created in 1996 as an act of legislation with the passage of state senate bill 1420. Following its creation, the Authority was tasked with the development and implementation of intercity high-speed rail service. In November 2008, California voters approved Proposition 1A, a $9.95 billion bond measure giving the Authority the ability to begin construction of a high-speed rail line system between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Proposition 1A had certain funding stipulations that would be required of the proposed High-Speed Rail system. For example, the High-Speed

Rail alignment is required to link the state’s major population centers and do so by following existing transportation or utility corridors.

The project is divided into in two phases. Phase 1 involves a 500-mile stretch from San Francisco through Silicon Valley and the Central Valley ultimately reaching Los Angeles and Anaheim. Phase 2 will eventually stretch north from Merced up to Sacramento, and it would reach east from Los Angeles to the Inland Empire before running south to San Diego. In total, the plan involves over 800 miles of HST track alignment, as shown in Figure 1.

In his 2019 State of the State Address, Governor Newsom emphasized the need to complete the Central Valley segment of the High-Speed Rail alignment from Merced to Bakersfield. The Governor claimed that this segment remains viable and that connecting the Central Valley to other parts of the state was crucial to meet the state’s economic goals. Governor Newsom also emphasized that the Phase I environmental work needs to be completed but raised doubt about the viability to connect High-Speed Rail from San Francisco to Los Angeles. This controversial statement caused a surge of media conjecture and was later clarified by his office, expressing the State’s full commitment to finishing the alignment between the two major cities. The High-Speed Rail Authority CEO, Brian Kelly, also affirmed in a written statement that the completion of the Central Valley segment is the Governor’s primary emphasis, which includes Construction Package 4, and that the Governor remains committed to complete the necessary preliminary investments to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles.

CENTRAL VALLEY PROGRAM The Central Valley was identified early on as the preferred region of the state to begin construction. This was done for several reasons, including its low-density population, flat terrain, central geographic location, relatively low cost of construction, and opportunity for future economic development. Thus far, the Authority has awarded three construction packages in the Central Valley that span about a 120-mile segment from Madera, CA through Wasco, CA: CP1, CP2-3, and CP4. Construction has been initiated in each construction package and often parallels either state highways or existing freight railroad alignments.

Figure 1 - California High-Speed Rail Statewide System Map

Each of the construction packages are similar in scope, with some variety depending on specific project challenges. Construction Package 1 was the first contract awarded in August 2013 to begin construction. It stretches 32 miles from Ave 19 in Madera County to south of American Avenue in Fresno County, and it includes 22 grade separations, 2 viaducts, and 1 tunnel. Construction Package 2-3 is the second contract awarded in June 2015. It stretches 60 miles from American Avenue in Fresno County to one mile north of the Tulare-Kern county line, and it includes 36 grade separations in Fresno, Tulare and Kings counties. Construction Package 4 was the latest package to be awarded in February 2016. It stretches 20 miles from the terminus of CP2-3 until Poplar Avenue, north of the City of Shafter. Table 1 - Construction Package Contract Summary

Construction Package Contract

Execution Date

Original Contract

Value HST Length Design-Build Contractor

Construction Package 1 (CP1)

August 2013

$1.02 B 32 miles Tutor Perini/Zachry/Parsons, a Joint Venture

Construction Package 2-3 (CP2-3)

June 2015 $1.23 B 70 miles Dragados/Flatiron Joint Venture

Construction Package 4 (CP4)

February 2016

$0.44 B 20 miles California Rail Builders LLC

Total $2.69 B

The 120-mile segment in the Central Valley continues to see the most ongoing construction related to the High-Speed Rail project. Construction is advancing particularly along existing railroad corridors since the High-Speed Rail Authority has secured construction agreements with Union Pacific and/or BNSF Railway

Figure 2- Central Valley Region Construction Packages

on each construction package from Madera to Wasco, CA. Thus far, this construction has primarily consisted of individual grade separations and utility relocations. However, future planned work in coordination with the Class I railroads will be more extensive, including miles of main line track relocation, siding extensions, signal relocation, access mitigation, and shoofly construction. Many of the large river bridges and HST-over-Railroad pergola structures are well under construction, including the BNSF Fresno River Viaduct and the UPRR San Joaquin River Pergola structure. The California High-Speed Rail Authority also continues to make progress on the acquisition of land, environmental review, and other steps required to complete the project’s original Phase I, 500-mile alignment from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

CONSTRUCTION PACKAGE 4 OVERVIEW Construction Package 4 was awarded to California Rail Builders in January 2016 for $444 million. Since that time, an additional $4.7 million has been included through various contract amendments. The CP4 High-Speed Rail corridor runs adjacent BNSF’s existing freight corridor from McCombs Avenue until Poplar Avenue and passes alongside the BNSF’s Wasco Industrial Facility. A summary of the key elements in Construction Package 4 are as follows:

• 20 miles long from 1 mile north of the Tulare-Kern county line to Poplar Avenue • 2 BNSF Overpasses • 2 BNSF Underpasses • 4 HST Underpasses • 1 HST Bridge • 2 HST viaducts including an approximate 2400-foot crossing of BNSF with pergola structure • 1 Amtrak pedestrian tunnel. • 53 utility crossings, including an approximate 3-mile relocation of fiber optic line. • 2 BNSF double track shooflies each approximately 3500 feet in length.

Figure 3 - Construction Package 4 Project Overview

Additional construction efforts include some demolition and environmental mitigation that spans the length of most of the construction limits within BNSF right-of-way. The key stakeholders on the project include BNSF Railway, Amtrak, the City of Wasco, Kern County, the North Kern Irrigation District, and Century Link (Level 3). The extensive work needed to occur within the BNSF right-of-way and the maintenance of access to the Amtrak station have provided unique challenges to the coordination and completion of this project.

KEY GRADE SEPARATIONS Although there are 12 total structures within CP4, only 5 will directly impact BNSF: McCombs Avenue overpass, SR-46 underpass, Poso Avenue underpass, Wasco Viaduct, and Merced Avenue underpass. Grade separations remain the largest impact to BNSF Railway by High-Speed Rail through the Central Valley. The overpasses for McCombs Avenue and Merced Avenue have less impact on BNSF as the bridge decks and columns span the railroad right-of-way; however construction of the two proposed underpass grade separations for the BNSF at SR-46 and Poso Avenue will require a main line shoofly.

The construction of High-Speed Rail has always been planned to be a design-build project in nature, which has posed a challenge for coordination with the railroad. Standard procedures for project completion at BNSF Railway do not involve a design-build format, and usually requires an extensive approval process before any work can begin. BNSF has accommodated construction to begin in specific, limited circumstances for the High-Speed Rail project before 100% design acceptance has been completed. On the other hand, BNSF has remained committed to not allowing major construction to occur within their right-of-way until the all relevant construction agreements for each grade separation are fully executed, which does require 100% design acceptance by BNSF.

Each grade separation has faced unique circumstances depending on the stakeholders and project scope. McCombs Avenue and Merced Avenue are the two overpasses that span BNSF Railway’s alignment and the adjacent State Route 43 in Kern County, owned and maintained by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). These overpasses have required specifically designed tie-ins to SR-43 at each location and acceptance by both the railroad and Caltrans. The two underpass locations are State Route 46 and Poso Avenue in Wasco, which will be explained later in greater detail. All grade separation structures are subject to the 2016 UPRR-BNSF Guidelines for Railroad Grade Separation Projects, and other requirements as communicated by the railroad. For example, where as the grade separation guidelines dictate a 23’6” vertical clearance from top of rail to the bottom of any overhead structure, High-Speed Rail has been required to design and construct for a 24’ clearance.

Coordination with BNSF on the grade separation design has largely involved meeting spatial requirements. BNSF has maintained that bents supporting the overpasses and the Wasco Viaduct should stay out of their 100-foot wide right-of-way, as should any falsework during construction. This is done with the intent to leave BNSF enough room to expand their infrastructure in the future, allow them access to drive along their freight corridor at all stages of construction, and minimize any impacts of construction to the operation of trains.

SR-46

The State Route 46 crossing is an existing underpass with the current BNSF bridge presently supporting two tracks: the BNSF mainline and a lead track. BNSF requested that the existing underpass be replaced with a new structure that is able to accommodate four tracks and allow for the potential expansion of a future fifth track, as mitigation for the High-Speed Rail project impacts. Caltrans, the State roadway authority, also required that the underpass meet their current design criteria and plans for expansion of the highway. As such, the new SR-46 underpass will be constructed wider and longer than the existing underpass.

Poso Ave

The Poso Avenue crossing is currently an at-grade BNSF crossing south of the Wasco yard with two tracks: the BNSF mainline and a lead track. This crossing will be grade separated into an underpass. The roadway currently carries vehicular traffic from G Street on the west side of the BNSF right-of-way to Wasco Avenue on the east side. The future underpass will go underneath both a High-Speed Rail bridge and a BNSF bridge with the same railroad requirements as the SR-46 underpass to allow for future railroad expansion.

The future underpass will also carry traffic underneath Wasco Avenue where it will connect to J Street in the future condition.

Wasco Viaduct

While the roadway grade separations are a large component of the project, the largest single structure impacting BNSF Railway in CP4 is the Wasco Viaduct. The Wasco Viaduct is an approximate 2400-foot long structure that will support the future High-Speed Rail alignment over BNSF. The north end of the structure starts approximately north of Jackson Avenue in Wasco and stretches until north of Kimberlina Avenue. The final structure will overlap the current Wasco Avenue, which runs parallel to the BNSF alignment south of Poso Avenue, thus requiring the city to close this road.

Figure 4 - Wasco Viaduct Plan and Section

RAILROAD SHOOFLY STRATEGY The primary challenge facing underpass construction for CP4 has been to maintain existing railroad operations during all phases of construction. In order to accomplish this, a shoofly is needed to support train operations while the underpass is constructed. Originally, a single shoofly design was developed to facilitate the underpass construction at three roadway crossings: State Route 46, 6th Street, and Poso Avenue. This single shoofly was nearly 8000 feet in length and spanned from north of the State Route 46 underpass to south of the Poso Avenue at-grade crossing. All three roadways are within 1-mile radius each other with 6th Street situated in the center, so a single shoofly was ideal to design to keep BNSF trains clear of the underpass construction. The major design criterion for this shoofly was BNSF’s requirement that it be designed for 110% of existing track speed.

Amtrak Station

However, one challenge that became clear early in the design was the existing Amtrak Station between 6th Street and Poso Avenue. As a result, the corresponding Wasco Amtrak platform fell in between the existing BNSF alignment and the proposed shoofly alignment. Having the platform in this location raised safety concerns by both BNSF Railway and Amtrak. Providing a temporary Amtrak platform while maintaining passenger service through this vital Central Valley corridor became a critical item toward advancing shoofly design. A temporary platform was designed between the shoofly alignment and the adjacent G street. The temporary platform was designed per Amtrak Station Program and Planning Guidelines to match the existing platform length and width and other platform treatments. New ADA access was designed from G street to the temporary platform, and station parking was relocated to on-street parking along G Street.

Not only was the temporary configuration of BNSF tracks problematic for passenger rail service in Wasco, but the final HSR alignment posed challenging as well. The future HSR tracks also block passenger access to platform on the west side and therefore, a new pedestrian underpass tunnel was designed to connect public access from G Street underneath High-Speed Rail’s proposed alignment and up to the existing Wasco Amtrak canopy. The underpass will be approximately 3-feet below the HSR Tracks and will be 15 feet wide.

Developing Two Shooflies

Through their diligent efforts, California Rail Builders successfully worked with City officials to close 6th Street. This milestone was a significant for the project, because it eliminated the need to construct the 6th Street underpass. Through a series of meetings and discussions to minimize impacts to BNSF Railway, it

Figure 5 – Single shoofly design including pedestrian underpass and temporary Amtrak station.

became clear that by closing 6th Street, the scope of shoofly construction could also be reduced. The single 8000-foot shoofly was able to be split into two shooflies at SR-46 and Poso Avenue, each about 3500 feet in length. Additionally, with the two shorter shooflies, the temporary Amtrak platform was no longer needed. The closure of 6th Street resulted in signification cost and schedule savings for the project.

Construction phasing for each underpass and corresponding shoofly posed a unique challenge, because it required careful coordination with BNSF to maintain their train operations. Both shooflies have similar construction phasing, although Poso Avenue has more BNSF track and signal assets impacted during construction. In the first phase of construction, California Rail Builders will construct the temporary shoofly bridge and the HSR alignment bridge. Once the shoofly structure is complete, BNSF will construct the shoofly track and cutover their operations and signal equipment during an overnight window. More than one absolute work window is needed to connect the main and the lead tracks, separately. Poso requires the connection of more tracks including a controlled siding and yard tracks that serve their Wasco yard. During BNSF operations on the shoofly, the original alignment will need to be removed so that underpass construction can be completed. Once the BNSF bridge for the underpass is constructed, BNSF will restore their tracks to their original alignment, and a second round of cutovers will be needed decommission the shoofly.

Figure 6 - State Route 46 shoofly design including bridge construction phasing.

Wasco Industrial Facility

Between the footprint of the two shooflies is BNSF’s Wasco yard with an adjoining industrial facility. While presently not in use, the industrial facility was previously utilized for the shipment of coal by rail. BNSF originally believed that the facility would not need to be served throughout the construction and operation of the shooflies. Therefore, any discontinued service to the Wasco yard during the operation of the shooflies would have no impact to BNSF customers. However, it later became clear by BNSF’s economic development team that an industry is interested in leasing the facility. BNSF stated that they needed to ensure the shooflies provided a clear path to the facility for the sake of their future industrial and economic development. No adjustments had to be made to the SR-46 shoofly design, but in order to keep the project moving, an industry track was added to the Poso Avenue shoofly that branched off from the BNSF lead track and connected to the existing Wasco yard and future leased industrial facility. Although this development impacted not only the design, but also the ultimate track construction phasing, it was quickly implemented by the design team to advance the approval process.

Grading Tie-In Challenges

The existing BNSF main line was constructed at a higher grade than the lead track through the City of Wasco. In certain instances, the grade difference between the two tracks is as much as 3.5 feet. With the track spacing between the main line and lead track of only 14-feet, these existing conditions created a difficult design challenge for the shoofly roadbed grading, specifically at the points of tie-in. Because it is physically impossible to meet both the BNSF minimum roadbed width (28 feet) and maximum ballast depth (18 inches). Through collaboration with BNSF, the design team prepared a grading design assuming that the BNSF tracks are supported on typical ballast depth with narrow roadbed. To validate this design assumption, the design team potholed both the main line and lead tracks at the points of tie-in. The pothole activity demonstrated that the ballast depth below the main line and lead track are indeed per BNSF standards, and confirmed the narrow track roadbed. Figure 9 below demonstrates the final grading that was accepted by BNSF.

Figure 7 – Poso Avenue shoofly design including bridge construction phasing.

Design Variances

Through collective coordination and regular meetings with the railroad, the need for variances to BNSF shoofly standards was minimized. Opportunities were sought by all parties to come up with innovative solutions to address design challenges throughout the approval process. However, some variances could not be eliminated.

One such example was the need to request a variance to the horizontal clearance of the shoofly structure. The BNSF standard for temporary horizontal clearance from the edge of a structure to the nearest rail is 15 feet. However, in order to be able to design a shoofly within the railroad right-of-way that met their design criteria for track speed and track geometry, BNSF granted a horizontal clearance variance of 13 feet.

The width of the shoofly structure posed another challenge in that part of the shoofly structure fell within the HSR right-of-way. While this was acceptable during underpass construction, this was not acceptable in the long-term condition on the part of HSR due to property concerns. This issue was resolved by designing the shoofly bridge with an overhang that can support E-80 loading that will be demolished following the removal of the shoofly tracks. This instance did not require a variance but is an example of a design challenge faced by the team that was solved by collaborative efforts with BNSF.

OTHER SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES Access Road

One concern raised by BNSF Railway, with respect to the construction of so many grade separations, was the reduction of access points along their right-of-way once construction would be complete. Historically, BNSF has used at-grade crossing locations to access their right-of-way. With so many at-grade crossings being removed and the future High-Speed Rail alignment blocking access on the geographic west side of BNSF through most of Wasco city limits, BNSF needed the impacts to their access mitigated. First, they requested a time study that summarized ingress and egress locations for each point of concern along their right-of-way, and the amount of time required to access each point relative to the current condition. This would help them compare the present and future conditions of any access issues that may arise once High-Speed Rail was constructed. Then, as a result of negotiations with the Authority, it was decided that access would be mitigated with a 12-foot access road with aggregate base surface built along any section of the right-of-way where access would be impacted by High-Speed Rail’s alignment. Access would also need to be maintained, according with BNSF requirements, during all stages of the shoofly construction. Spatial limitations initially posed challenging to this requirement, because the shoofly borders the edge of BNSF right-of-way. However, coordination with the railroad resolved that BNSF would be allowed to use HSR right-of-way for access during construction. Finally, in accordance with BNSF access mitigation efforts, any signal assets more than a mile from the nearest ingress point of the future access road would need to be relocated to the opposite side of the tracks to facilitate any emergency repairs that may need to be made in a timely manner by BNSF.

Figure 8 - Track Tie-in Grading

Wasco Viaduct

One challenge with respect to the rail-over-rail Wasco Viaduct is the installation of girders over the BNSF Railway active mainline. Per BNSF standards, girders set over their tracks must be precast, and they can only be set under a dedicated, absolute work window. Furthermore, absolute windows are only granted by BNSF at night on the Bakersfield Subdivision to accommodate BNSF freight traffic and Amtrak’s busy daytime schedule through the Central Valley. Due to this fact, BNSF was only able to commit to a roughly 4-hour window each night, and with 121 girders this will likely require about ten weeks of constant, weeklong night work to set all the girders. However, BNSF cannot grant this many absolute windows each week in their current state, because of their needs to balance their own track maintenance windows and the operation of trains. In the present condition, BNSF can only commit to one window per week for High-Speed Rail in all of Northern California until further expansion of their infrastructure is in-service. Otherwise, one window per week would greatly delay construction of not only the Wasco Viaduct, but also the many overpasses on all three construction packages.

One example of the collaboration by BNSF Railway was the allowance of construction to begin at the Wasco Viaduct. In order for a master construction agreement to be executed between the High-Speed Rail Authority and BNSF a certain level of design had to be complete on the structures. It is standard BNSF procedure to not allow any construction to begin until all the relevant construction agreements are in place. However, BNSF has been greatly collaborative and agreed to allow work to begin outside of their right-of-way within the zone of influence, or Zone A, that supports the foundation of their infrastructure. As such, the contractor was able to begin drilling, setting the rebar cages, and pouring concrete for the bent columns of the Wasco Viaduct.

Century Link (Level 3)

A large portion of BNSF’s Northern California freight corridor contains an underground fiber option line running along their right-of-way parallel to their tracks. This line, formerly owned by Level 3 and presently owned by Century Link, needed to be relocated through most of Wasco city limits due to access concerns from both BNSF Railway and Century Link of having the line situated between two active railroads. This line needed to be relocated before any underpass construction could begin in Wasco, because the new alignment for Century Link would pass within the footprints of both the SR-46 and Poso Avenue underpasses.

Ongoing conversations and coordination were needed with both Century Link and BNSF Railway about the various design criteria for the relocation of this line, which quickly became a critical primary step toward initiating any other construction in Wasco. One example of this was the boring of the new line underneath the underpasses. Since the underpasses spanned the length of the BNSF right-of-way, the relocation of the Century Link line needed to be bored below the future CIDH piles that will go on to support the future BNSF mainline bridge. For this condition, BNSF requirements stated that the top of the telecom bore needed to be no closer than 10’8” from the bottom of the CIDH pile of each underpass, as depicted below.

This requirement posed difficult because of the soil pressure that far below grade. At SR-46, for example, the bore depth would be approximately 70 feet below grade. While BNSF allows fiber lines running parallel to their tracks to be cased with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe, this material posed too flexible for boring at this depth and soil pressure. Working with BNSF and the boring subcontractor, an agreement was made to use steel casing at these depths below the future CIDH piles for each underpass, and between yard tracks as necessary where space for relocation was limited.

Another challenge with advancing the Century Link relocation design plans also became limitations to the bore diameter for their future alignment. In such instances, BNSF does not allow the bore hole diameter to exceed the outside diameter of the casing by more than two inches, which is consist with the AREMA guideline for the overcut of a drilled hole. The need for the variance came from the boring subcontractor who asserted that two inches was not enough space to maneuver and complete the necessary HDD relocation. The concern from the railroad was that a greater difference than 2” between the casing and the bore hole has the potential to create air voids in the soil. This concern can be addressed by injecting a fluid to fill the void and maintain the borehole integrity during the HDD. Ultimately, Trenchless Industry Standards produced by the North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT) confirmed that the

final borehole diameter for HDD of either 12”, or 1.5 times larger than the outside diameter of the installed casing, was acceptable. This helped build consensus with BNSF Railway, and a variance was granted.

CPUC

Some challenges associated with the grade separations in Construction Package 4 came the application process with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which oversees all applications for any changes to railroad crossings. The standard process in the State of California is to complete a GO-88B application with the CPUC for a grade separation of an existing at-grade railroad crossing. However, some grade separations on the High-Speed Rail project are hundreds of feet away from the existing at-grade crossing in order to allow public use of the roadway during almost all stages of construction. This practice raised the concern of whether a longer application process, a GO-88, would be necessary in place of the shorter GO-88B. Through collaboration with the CPUC, it was determined that we would be able to utilize the GO-88B process, rather than a formal GO-88 application.

Another challenge was the number of applications required for all the crossings impacted by CP4. For the sake of project advancement, our team proposed aggregating applications that were tied together. For example, for crossings that impacted BNSF, we were able to aggregate 6th Street and Poso Avenue applications, since 6th Street would be used for public crossing while Poso Avenue was closed for underpass construction. Once the Poso Avenue underpass is open, 6th Street will be able to be closed. Away from the BNSF alignment, the design team was able to aggregate the Garces, Pond, and Peterson crossing applications. Since closure and construction of these crossings are tied, we were able to get the CPUC to support our recommendation of aggregating applications, which saved time and effort and helped advance the project.

CONCLUSION The design approvals for Construction Package 4 along the BNSF right-of-way are nearly complete. Both shooflies have been final approved by BNSF, as well as a number of the grade separations. Similarly, the Century Link relocation is advancing in the early stages, and construction has begun for the Wasco Viaduct. Most of the property acquisition and structure demolition in Wasco is also completed.

This project has involved significant collaboration between California Rail Builders, BNSF Railway, JMA Civil, the High-Speed Rail Authority, local agencies, Century Link, and more. Overall, there has been significant effort and success in building consensus among all parties. In particular, the BNSF team has invested great effort and time in working with the design-build team and the Authority to assist in advancing this exciting and revolutionary State project.

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 – California High-Speed Rail Statewide System Map

Figure 2 – Central Valley Region Construction Packages

Figure 3 – Construction Package 4 project overview

Figure 4 – Wasco Viaduct Plan and Section View

Figure 5 – Single shoofly design including pedestrian underpass and temporary Amtrak station

Figure 6 – State Route 46 shoofly design including bridge construction phasing

Figure 7 – Poso Avenue shoofly design including bridge construction phasing

Figure 8 – Track Tie-in Grading

Click to edit Master title style

Building California High-Speed RailPROJECT CONSTRUCTION IN WASCO, CENTRAL VALLEY

Principal EngineerJMA Civil, Inc.

Project DirectorCalifornia Rail Builders

Manager EngineeringBNSF Railway

Presentation Overview•HSR Program & CP4 overview•BNSF Railroad Shooflies to Build HSR•Technical Challenges

HSR and Freight Railroad Collaboration•Follow Major Transportation Corridors

•HSR Adjacency to Freight Railroads

•Dedicated High-Speed Corridor

HSR Benefits for the Rail Industry•Significant New Public Investment in Rail Cap Ex. •Removal of At-Grade Crossings•Enhanced Safety and Freight Operations•Environmental and Social Justice

Central Valley Program•Merced to Bakersfield-230 Miles of 800-mile

total system-Preferred Initial

Segment-Max speed of 220

MPH-SF to Fresno 1:15 min

Central Valley Program•120 Miles Under Construction: CP1, CP2-3, & CP4•70 Total Grade Separations•$3.0B+

Construction Package 4 Overview•Construction Package 4- 20-Mile Length- $444M+- 12 Structures- 53 Utility Crossings- 2 Railroad Shooflies- 4 At-Grade Crossing

Closures- Expected Completion 2021

Construction Package 4 Overview•Grade Separations-2 New BNSF Overpasses-1 New Rail-Over-Rail

Viaduct Structure-1 New Underpass and

Shoofly-1 Existing Underpass

Widening and Shoofly

Freight Railroad Shooflies•Initial Single Shoofly Design-Alternative Technical Concept (ATC): 8000 feet long-Facilitates Underpass Construction at 3 Locations

Freight Railroad Shooflies•Temporary Amtrak Platform-Existing Platform Between Mainline and Shoofly-Passenger Safety Concerns

Freight Railroad Shooflies•6th Street Full Closure-2 Separate Shoofly Concepts Developed-Reduced BNSF impacts, Costs and Schedule

Freight Railroad Shooflies

Key Freight Railroad Considerations•Railroad Access-At-Grade Crossing Removal

Impacts BNSF Access-Intrusion Protection Barrier

Restricts BNSF Corridor-Equivalent Access Needed

Key Freight Railroad Considerations•Railroad Access-Time Study-Relocated Access

Key Freight Railroad Considerations•Wasco Viaduct -Zone A Impacts Outside BNSF ROW-Girder Placement-Work Windows/Una Improvements

Key Freight Railroad Considerations•Wasco Viaduct -Zone A Impacts-Columns Outside BNSF ROW

Key Freight Railroad Considerations

Wasco Viaduct

Key Freight Railroad Considerations•Century Link (Level 3) Relocation-3-Mile Relocation-Casing Requirements-AREMA Bore Diameter-Level 3 Franchise

Agreement-Routing Through BNSF Yard

Key Freight Railroad Considerations•Century Link (Level 3) Relocation

Critical Challenges Solved•Poso Avenue Shoofly-Double Track Shoofly-Maintained Railroad Clear Lengths-2-Phase Bridge Construction-Maintained Access to Wasco Industrial Facility-Designed for 110% Timetable Speed

Poso Ave Railroad Shoofly – PhasingExisting Crossing

Poso Ave Railroad Shoofly – PhasingExisting CrossingPhase 1 BridgesShooflies Clear of Main

Poso Ave Railroad Shoofly – PhasingExisting CrossingPhase 1 BridgesShooflies Clear of MainMain 1 Cut-Over

Poso Ave Railroad Shoofly – PhasingExisting CrossingPhase 1 BridgesShooflies Clear of MainMain 1 Cut-OverSiding Cut-Over

Poso Ave Railroad Shoofly – PhasingExisting CrossingPhase 1 BridgesShooflies Clear of MainMain 1 Cut-OverSiding Cut-OverPhase 2 Bridge

Poso Ave Railroad Shoofly – PhasingExisting CrossingPhase 1 BridgesShooflies Clear of MainMain 1 Cut-OverSiding Cut-OverPhase 2 BridgeReconstruct Main

Poso Ave Railroad Shoofly – PhasingExisting CrossingPhase 1 BridgesShooflies Clear of MainMain 1 Cut-OverSiding Cut-OverPhase 2 BridgeReconstruct MainCut-Over Lead

Poso Ave Railroad Shoofly – PhasingExisting CrossingPhase 1 BridgesShooflies Clear of MainMain 1 Cut-OverSiding Cut-OverPhase 2 BridgeReconstruct MainCut-Over LeadCut-Over Main

Poso Ave Railroad Shoofly – PhasingExisting CrossingPhase 1 BridgesShooflies Clear of MainMain 1 Cut-OverSiding Cut-OverPhase 2 BridgeReconstruct MainCut-Over LeadCut-Over MainConstruct HST

Poso Ave Railroad Shoofly – Phasing

Critical Challenges Solved•Grading of Shoofly Tie-In-14’ Track Spacing-2’ Vertical Grade Difference-Potholed Ballast Depth-Narrow Roadbed Width

•Design Variances-13’ Temp Side Clearance

Critical Challenges Solved•Construction Accommodation-Zone A, B, C-Work Windows/Form B’s-Everyday

Building California High-Speed Rail•Lessons Learned-Collaborative Design Process-Consistent Meetings-Early Completion of Utility Relocation-R&C Agreement-Consensus-Building on Variances

Building California High-Speed Rail

Thank You

Jon Marshall, PEJMA Civil, Inc.jmarshall@jmacivil.com

Michael KeatingBNSF Railwaymichael.keating@bnsf.com

Antonio CañeteCalifornia Rail Buildersacanete@ferrovial.us