Valley Metro Rail Lines 4 and 5
Features & Highlights
- More than 10 miles of light rail constructed
- Both projects included bridge replacements.
Project Overview
Construction of Line Section 4 consisted of 5.4 miles of light rail guideway, beginning at the intersection of 26th Street and Washington in Phoenix and extending to 1st Street in Tempe. Work also included the track work on the newly constructed Tempe Town Lake Bridge and the replacement of the Washington Street Bridge over the Grand Canal, leading into the Operations and Maintenance Center.
Construction of Line Section 5 consisted of 4.9 miles of light rail guideway beginning at First Street in Tempe to Sycamore and Main in downtown Mesa. It included track and guideway in the newly replaced Tempe Canal Bridge and partial replacement of the Apache Blvd/Loop 101 bridge structure.
The replacement of the Apache Blvd/Loop 101 bridge proved to be one of the most effective aspects of the project for cost and time savings. The project team developed a three-phase approach to accomplish this work using post-tensioned cast-in-place girders in lieu of precast beams. All three phases of the work spanned all 11 lanes of the Loop 101 freeway, one of the busiest sections in the Phoenix metro area.
Both light rail projects included demolition, relocation of water and sewer lines, roadway improvements, drainage modifications, sidewalk and landscaping, streetlights, installation of traffic control signals, light rail station platform foundations, systems ductbanks and conduit, overhead catenary system foundations, preparation of track bed and sub-drains, installation of track and special track work (both embedded and ballasted) and at-grade crossings.
Contacts
Awards & Accolades
2007 Public Works Project of the Year, Metro Line Rail 4, American Public Works Association, Arizona Chapter
2008 Build America Merit Award, Metro Line Rail 5, AGC of America
2008 Project of the Year, Metro Line Rail 5, American Public Works Association, Arizona Chapter
2008 Project of the Year, Transportation, Metro Line Rail 5, Engineering News-Record Southwest