Project Summary:
Working under ARRA (American Recovery Reinvestment Act), IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation) and the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), Milord Company was contracted to perform most of the major contracts for the Illinois High Speed Rail project.
The Milord Company completed the Tier 1N corridor of the High Speed Rail project in 2013, which involved the completion of the work from north of Dwight, IL to south of Pontiac, IL (23 miles from MP 72 to MP 95). The project consisted of 5 miles of track sidings, turnouts, construction of nine (9) bridges, twenty-eight (28) at-grade track crossings, and over 5 miles of ornamental fencing. Other facets of the project were 200,000 cubic yards of earthwork, 120,000 tons of sub-ballast, 30,000 tons of ballast, concrete and wood ties, drainage, jack & bore work, rip rap, geo-grid, local and state permitting, certified payroll, DBE participation. The track crossings involved traffic control, demolition, signal work, concrete track panels, subgrade preparation, aggregate stone, asphalt and PCC paving, sidewalks and curbs, drainage, shoulder work, electrical, signage, loop detectors and striping.
The Milord Company was contracted with Union Pacific on the High Speed Rail project to complete the Tier 3 portion, which consists of the 56-mile corridor generally between Bloomington, Illinois and Springfield, Illinois, MP 147 to MP 203. This project commenced in spring of 2014 and will be completed 4th quarter 2015. The project includes the construction of more than 15 miles of new double track on 20 foot centers using 136# rail on concrete ties. This involves 315,000 cubic yards of earthwork, 320,000 tons of sub-ballast, 80,000 tons of ballast, clearing and grubbing of over 130 acres, demolition, geo-grid, 63 culverts, 33 jack and bores, 38 grade crossings, 100,000 lineal feet of special fencing and 4 bridges. It includes Clean Water 404 permits, Army Corps permitting, Clean Water Act 401, Floodplain permits, Access permits, City Ordinances, SWWP plans.
The Tier 4 project was a rehabilitation and new construction of three high-speed rail sidings along 50 miles of mainline from Chenoa, IL to Atlanta, IL. The project included 9 bridges, 18 culverts, 18 jack and bore culverts, 7 retaining walls, 56 grade crossings and 25 miles of fencing. As earthwork was completed up to a certain point Milord directed the sub-ballast to be started not waiting for the entire grade to be ready. This scheduling sequence saved numerous days in the schedule and also allowed the track gangs to start sooner.
The Accelerated Bridges project which involved the removal and installation of twelve (12) mainline bridges, completed on an accelerated schedule, between MP 104.83 and MP 230.77. The Milord Company completed all 12 bridges over a period of three (3) 7-day, 24-hour outages. The work consisted of the removal of track, ballast, bridge decks, piers, abutments, steel beams and the new installation of piles, abutments, deck pans, beams, wing walls, concrete repairs, ballast, track, handrail, bearings, sheet piling, shoring, access roads, traffic control, and paving all on a fast track basis.