LACSD Waste by Rail Project

AUTHORS

Mark RevillaSanitation Districts of Los Angeles County1955 Workman Mill RoadWhittier, CA 90601562-908-4288mrevilla@lacsd.org

Larry G. LongVice PresidentWilson & Company Inc., Engineers and Architects625 East Carnegie Drive, Suite 100San Bernardino, CA 92408909-806-8002 Larry.Long@wilsonco.com

ABSTRACT

Since the late 1980s, the County Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County (Districts), in conjunction with other public agencies, have been studying means to address the projected shortfall in local solid waste disposal capacity. Currently, nearly all refuse in Los Angeles County is transported to disposal sites in the metropolitan area by truck. However, as public opposition to siting new or expanding existing disposal facilities near urban areas grew, sites farther from the Los Angeles Basin became more desirable, despite the transport costs associated with longer transport distances. Rail transport is an efficient means to transport refuse to remote disposal sites. The basic concept of waste by rail (WBR) is to remove recyclable materials from the municipal solid waste (MSW), put the remaining solid waste into containers, and ship the containers via rail to a landfill outside of urbanized areas.

BACKGROUND

The Districts are a public agency set up to manage wastewater and solid waste on a regional scale. The agency is made up of 23 independent special districts, with one administrative staff with their headquarters in Whittier, California, serving about 5.4 million people in Los Angeles County. The service area covers approximately 815 square miles and includes 78 cities and Los Angeles County incorporated areas. The Districts’ comprehensive solid waste management system includes three active sanitary landfills; two recycle centers; three material recovery/transfer facilities; four gas-to-energy facilities; and two refuse-to-energy facilities.

The Districts owns the Mesquite Regional Landfill (MRL), Southern California's first landfill permitted to receive waste by rail. The landfill is located next to the Mesquite Gold Mine, east of Glamis and near the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) mainline in Imperial County, California. A 4.5-mile rail spur connects the UPRR railroad mainline to the Mesquite Intermodal Facility (MIMF) located adjacent to the MRL. The site is well suited to be a landfill because of its desert climate, distance from groundwater, distance from residential development, proximity to the railroad, and preexisting use for mining. The landfill was designed and will be operated as a sanitary landfill to meet all local, state and federal requirements. The site is also permitted to receive 4,000 tons per day by truck of Los Angeles County waste and up to 1,000 tons per day by truck from Imperial County.

The local, Los Angeles County portion of the WBR system is comprised of Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) or transfer stations and an intermodal rail yard. The Puente Hills MRF (PHMRF) is currently in service and in June 2008, the Districts received a land use permit to construct an adjacent intermodal facility in the City of Industry. This facility called the Puente Hills Intermodal Facility (PHIMF), when completed, will be dedicated to WBR and

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will be capable of handling up to two trains per day, or approximately 8,000 tons per day. The PHIMF is designed to accept containerized MSW from the PHMRF, as well as from other public and private MRFs and transfer stations.

PROJECT SCOPE

Wilson & Company was engaged by the Districts to evaluate and ultimately design both ends of the WBR system, which includes both intermodal facilities and associated rail spurs to connect the yards to the UPRR main lines.Thirty percent of the design work had already been completed on the MIMF when Wilson & Company took over the design. The existing plans and design documentation were reviewed and the design was refined to facilitate a phased construction. The MIMF was designed with a centralized traffic control (CTC) lead track from the UPRR main track, a siding track with the ability to hold a mile long unit train, two intermodal tracks, one runaround track and an engine tie up track with rail car repair facilities. This initial design would allow for a two train per day operation. When fully built, the facility can handle up to five loaded trains in a 24 hour period.

Locally, the PHIMF is located in an industrial area adjacent to the existing UPRR right-of-way. The PHIMF has approximately 18,500 feet of track within the UPRR right-of-way, with approximately half of it under CTC control.The track design speed is 50 MPH to allow UPRR to accelerate and decelerate trains from the main track. Unlike the MIMF, the PHIMF is located on a small parcel of land with six intermodal tracks that have the combined ability to hold a mile long unit train.

The PHIMF and the PHMRF are on opposite sides of the UPRR main track. Direct access was provided between the facilities by constructing a private grade separated access road under the UPRR main track. The private access road allows loaded containers weighing 30 tons filled at the PHMRF to be moved to the PHIMF without traveling on surface streets. Local road weight limitations would prevent maximizing unit train operations that were limited to 6,850 trailing tons.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE WASTE BY RAIL SYSTEM DESIGN

The concept and design of the rail facilities at both ends of the project were reviewed, evaluated and discussed by Wilson & Company with the Districts. Specific guidelines on train and waste volumes were provided by the Districts so that the facilities were designed to fit the projected rail traffic volumes at start up operations but also flexible enough to accommodate future operations.

Mesquite Intermodal FacilityThe MIMF was completed in 2011 to load and unload the Districts’ WBR trains that will transport containerized MSW to the regional landfill located 4.5 miles east of Glamis. The MIMF and rail spur are built to UPRR’sspecifications and are permitted for up to five unit trains a day.

Intermodal Yard Site Area: 100 acresDesign Capacity: 20,000 tons per day of MSW. This can be up to 5 trains a day and can include up to 4,000

tons of MSW from LA County .Onsite Loading Tracks: Two (each approximately one mile in length).Other Tracks: One runaround and one tail track for repositioning locomotives, an engine tie-up track and

maintenance pit for service of railcars and locomotives with access to electricity and water, and a west-ladder track with turnouts to connect the loading tracks and runaround tracks to the spur and yard lead track.

Ancillary Facilities: Rail container wash station with a water recycling system, yard lighting to accommodate nighttime operations, a crane maintenance pad with electricity and water, and a 6,800-foot long berm for visual screening of intermodal operations.

Operating Hours: 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

Rail SpurApproximately 4.5 miles of rail spur connects to the UPRR Sunset line northwest of Glamis.

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The rail spur, a portion of which is within a 150’ wide Bureau of Land Management (BLM) right-of-way, features three at-grade crossing with signals and crossing arms. The rail spur signal system includes a CTC portion that extends for approximately 3 miles.A one mile long yard lead track at the MIMF property boundary provides for the staging of trains to avoid blocking the grade crossings. Block outs are provided every 1,000 feet along the spur for desert tortoise crossings.

Puente Hills Intermodal FacilitySite Area: 17.2 acresDesign Capacity: 8,000 tons per day of containerized MSW equivalent to 2 trains per day.Onsite Loading Tracks: Six (each at approximately 800 feet in length)Other Tracks: Two rail maintenance tracks and one switch locomotive storage track (each approximately

500 feet in length)Ancillary Facilities: Administration building, employee/visitor parking, maintenance facilities, and container

storage areasOperating Hours: 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

Rail Improvements within UPRR Right-of-WayConstruction of an additional railroad track that would span 3.5 miles from Mission Mill Road to just west of 7th Avenue and construction of a new rail bridge at the Peck Road Grade Separation. Construction of approximately 2.5 miles of retaining walls along the UPRR right-of-way to accommodate enough space for the third track. Some walls have sound wall panels placed on top to mitigate noise impacts at the residential communities adjacent to the track.Modifications to the existing railroad underpasses at Crossroads Parkway North and State Route 60 (SR 60)and improvements to the at-grade rail crossing at Workman Mill Road. Installation of new railroad signals and modifications to existing railroad signals to further improve safety.The signal system includes a CTC portion that extends for approximately 2 miles.Construction of a new Access Road from the existing PHMRF necessitating a grade separation under the UPRR main tracks.

WASTE BY RAIL TRAIN OPERATIONS

The primary function of the Districts’ PHIMF is to load full containers of MSW onto railcars and unload empty containers from railcars to trucks for reloading. No MSW is processed at the facilities; the facilities would only function as a handling facility for containers carrying MSW that had been loaded elsewhere. When a train with empty containers enters the arrival track from the main line, the UPRR locomotives disconnect from the train and are either stored on the maintenance tracks or depart this area. The train would be disconnected into approximately 800 feet sections of railcars, which would be pulled by a smaller switch locomotive onto the loading tracks at the facility. The process would be repeated until all six onsite loading tracks are full with empty containers. Cranes offload the containers onto trucks or place them along the loading tracks. The trucks transport the empty containers to the PHMRF using the Access Road. At the PHMRF, the empty containers are filled with residual MSW and they are returned to the PHIMF using trucks. Once the railcars are loaded with MSW containers, the train is then re-assembled on the departure track and a UPRR crew is called for moving the train to the MIMF.Arriving trains to the MRL enter the 4.5 mile 50 MPH CTC lead track to the MIMF. The inbound train is switched into one of the “stripping track” for unloading. The UPRR power and crew is disconnected from the train. Containers of MSW are then offloaded from the railcars and placed directly onto a truck or stacked along the loading tracks using an overhead crane. Trucks then transport the loaded containers back to the landfill where they are tipped for unloading. The unloaded containers are then transported back to the intermodal facility to be loaded back onto the train. UPRR locomotives would be utilized to transport the full train via the UPRR main line back tothe PHIMF.

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ENGINEERING CHALLENGES OF THE PROJECTMesquite Regional Landfill/Mesquite Intermodal Facility

Alluvial fan drainage designEnvironmental and endangered species considerationsPavement design considering climate BLM permitting constraints

Puente Hills Intermodal FacilityA small parcel of property to develop a working intermodal facilityA functional operating plan to meet the Districts’ needs and also UPRR’s train operations on the subdivisionNarrow right-of-way construction constraintsSCE power lines paralleling the UPRR right-of-waySR 60 / Caltrans coordination for opening an overhead bridge portal for rail trafficDesign of the private Access Road Grade SeparationAdjoining property owner considerationsGeotechnical design considerationsConstruction techniques limiting noise generation

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND AGENCY COORDINATION The MRL became operational in 2008 and the intermodal facility was completed in 2011. The landfill and intermodal facility meets or exceeds stringent local, state, and federal environmental requirements. Specific environmental protection features for the intermodal facility include:

Dust and Litter Control/Imperial County Public Health Department

Water trucks will routinely moisten roadways and the disposal area with water to reduce dust. Many of the site roads will be paved to reduce dust generation. A maintenance crew will monitor nearby areas for litter. Temporary fencing will be used to capture blowing litter on windy days.

Desert Tortoise Protection/US Fish and Wildlife

Prior to constructing the landfill, a significant portion of the landfill site was fenced. A team of biologists surveyed the fenced area for desert tortoises, which are a protected species under the Endangered Species Act. All desert tortoises were relocated outside the fencing to an approved site. All personnel working at the landfill site receive training to avoid interference with desert tortoises. Trained biologists will monitor the adjacent desert habitat and wildlife.

UPRR / CPUC Coordination

Coordination with UPRR and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) was an important component of the project. Our team completed multiple trips to the UPRR engineering offices in Omaha to go over the train operations, project phasing and the design features of both the Mesquite and Puente Hills sites. CPUC formal grade crossing applications were needed at Mesquite for three new at-grade crossings. The Puente Hills project required GO 88B applications for changes to existing grade separations at SR 60, Crossroads Parkway, and Peck Roadbridges and adding a third track to the Workman Mill at-grade road crossing.

The key items to coordinate with the railroads during the project include:Impacts to rail operations based on construction within short distance of active tracksUPRR capacity improvements at GlamisHorizontal and vertical clearances from the trackChanges in drainageNew drainage structuresNew Access Road Bridge at the PHIMF

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New Peck Road bridge designProtection or potential relocation of utilities within railroad right-of-way under railroad license agreementsConstruction sequencingEvaluation of crash walls for existing bridge structures within 25 feet of the centerline of the nearest trackObtaining pertinent information from the railroad to develop design documents

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Overview

Mesquite Regional Landfill (MRL) and Intermodal Facility (MIMF)

The Puente Hills Intermodal Facility (PHIMF)

Background

Spadra

CalabasasMissionCanyon

Commerce

South Gate DARTPalosVerdes

Open Landfill Closed Landfill Transfer / Material Recovery FacilityRefuse to Energy Facility

SchollCanyon Puente

Hills

SERRF

Intermodal Facility

LACSD’ Solid Waste System

Los AngelesCounty North

Riverside CountyOrangeCounty

VenturaCounty

San DiegoCounty

8

5

15

10

210

405

ImperialCounty

111

Ferrum

Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) Main Line

78

86

M ESQUITE

San Bernardino County

PHIMF

Waste By Rail (WBR) System WBR Operations

Puente Hills Intermodal Facility • Rail yard total acreage –

17.2• Capacity for 8,000 tons

per day• Dedicated Access Road• Administration building• Maintenance building• Six loading tracks adding

to one mile• Three maintenance

tracks• Container storage areas• Yard lighting for

nighttime operations• 24 hours a day, seven

days a week operation

Puente Hills Intermodal Facility

PHIMF Under Construction

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Staging Track B

N

UPPR Main Lines

Existing UPRR rail corridor, typically 100 feet wide, 2 tracks

Staging Track B

Adding 3.5 miles of additional track on the northern side of right-of-way

CTC Portion

Retaining Walls

Workman Mill Road at-grade crossing will be equipped with a quad gate system and standard No. 9 warning devices. Will be Quiet Zone ready.

No. 11

No. 15

No. 20

Using 3 switches for connectivity to UPRR mainlines Adding two new rail bridges, reconstructing at-grade crossing, and modifying two existing bridges

Peck Road Bridge

Access Road Bridge

N

R d B idRR d B id

Workman Mill Road At-Grade Crossing

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Engineering Challenges at PHIMF

Small Property Parcel Narrow Right-of-Way

Construction Constrains

SCE Power Lines Parallel to Right-of-

Way

SR-60/Caltrans Coordination for Rail Traffic Under Bridge

Design of Private Access Road Grade

Separation

Adjoining Property Owner Considerations

Geotechnical Design Considerations

Functional Operating Plan to Meet District’s

Needs and also UPRR’s train operations

Construction Techniques Limiting

Noise Generation

Engineering Challenges at PHIMF

Narrow Right-of-Way SCE Overhead Lines and UPRR Main Lines

Proximity to Residential AreasGrade Separation Needed for Access Road

CLSTAGINGTRACK B

CLEXISTING

TRACK

CLEXISTING

TRACK

EXISTINGUPRRR/W

CIDHRETAINING WALL

EXISTINGUPRRR/W

EXISTINGGROUND

Staging Track B Retaining Walls

CHAIN LINK FENCE

EXISTINGGROUND

CIDHCUT WALL

Peck Road Bridge

Peck Road Looking South

Peck Road Bridge

• Each abutment has 2 CIDH piles

• Each pier has 4 CIDH piles, 1 pile cap, 1 pier column, 1 pier cap

• Shoring piles are needed to excavate for pile caps

1 2

3 4

5 6

7 8

Difficulties due to soil conditions: • Existing buried concrete

abutment and existing shoring system near Pier 2

• Rip rap and large rocks around Piers 3 and 4

• Existing shoring system across Pier 7

• Existing seismic tieback across Abutment 8

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Access Road & Bridge

Northern Bridge Structure

Northern Access Road Bridge from PHIMF

Southern Bridge Structure Under Construction

SR-60/Crossroads Parkway Tieback Wall

SR-60/Crossroads Parkway Tieback Wall SR-60/Crossroads Parkway Tieback Wall

Work With Outside Agencies MRL and MIMF

Rail Yard

Rail Spur

Rail Spur

Rail Yard

Cell 1

Landfill Entrance

Operations Facilities

Highway 78

Landfill Footprint (2,290 Acres)

Property Boundary (4,245 Acres)

Operations Facilities

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Mesquite Intermodal Facility Rail yard total acreage - 227

Capacity for 20,000 tons per day

Two 1-mile long strip tracks

1,800-feet long engine tie-up track

6,000-feet long run around track

Container wash station

Maintenance pad and pit with power & water

Yard lighting for nighttime operations

Can operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week

Rail Spur

4.5-miles connects to UPRR main line

2 bridges

3 at-grade crossings with signals and crossing arms

CTC control ~ 3 miles

1-mile long yard lead track to avoid blocking crossings

Block outs every 1,000 feet along spur for desert tortoise crossings

Highway 78

GlamisUPRR Main Line

Rail Spur

BLM 150 ft Right-of-Way

Rail Yard

Property Line

Rail Spur

3 At-Grade Highway/Railroad Crossings Equipped with Standard No. 9 Warning Devices

10 Box Culverts and 2 Bridges

No. 11 No. 15

No. 24

3 Main Switches CTC Segment

Engineering Challenges at Mesquite

Alluvial Fan Drainage Design

Wildlife Design Considerations

Pavement Design Considering

Climate

BLM Permitting Constraints

Tortoise Monitoring along Rail Spur

Required by Biological OpinionInspection prior to use of spurProtocol established

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Climate Considerations Work With Outside Agencies

Questions ?? Qu

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