TR Circular E-C058_9th LRT Conference_2003.pdf - Florida ...

Berliner, Campo, Dickerson, and Mack 393
West Shore Railroad
The West Shore Railroad promoted suburban development along its route, and farmland was
transformed into middle-class housing developments. However, rider ship declined almost
immediately following the opening of the George Washington Bridge in 1931. Then in 1937, the
Lincoln Tunnel provided a second automobile route almost parallel to the West Shore’s
Weehawken 42nd Street ferry crossing. Finally, the Tappan Zee Bridge and the New York State
Thruway were constructed in the 1950s, and by 1959 all passenger service on the West Shore
Railroad was abandoned.
Public Service Electric & Gas Company
In late 1980s Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) constructed two high voltage transmission
power duct banks (230 kV) at the tunnel invert on either side of the railroad track, hugging the
tunnel walls.
The Tunnel’s Rebirth
In the 1980s, NJ Transit planned to implement the northern portion of the HBLR utilizing the
tunnel. Working with its design consultant, Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc., (PB)
and the railroads, it was agreed that freight service could be shifted west to the Conrail Northern
Branch Line to allow for construction of NJ Transit’s HBLR Transit System.
The portion of the HBLR through the Weehawken Tunnel is known as Design Unit N30.
The Design Unit includes approximately 4,300 ft (1,311 m) of LRT alignment and, a deep rock
station cavern (Bergenline Avenue Station) and a 160-ft (49-m) vertical shaft for the connection
with the surface bus station. The Bergenline Avenue Station will be one of the most frequently
used stations on the entire system. During the peak commuter hour, a total of 1,900 persons will
enter or leave the station. Contributing to this rider-ship is the large population within a walking
distance, significant retail and businesses, and numerous bus routes.
PB developed the tunnel and station design for NJ Transit. A Joint Venture of Frontier-
Kemper Constructors, Inc., J. F. Shea Construction, Beton and Monierbau Gesellschaft M.B.H.
(FKSB) is the tunnel contractor under subcontract to the HBLR Design Built Operate Maintain
(DBOM) Contractor, Twenty-First Century Rail Corporation (TFC). Construction started in
Spring 2002 and is scheduled to be complete in Spring 2005.
ENGINEERING
The engineering task for Design Unit N30 consists of providing engineering design for a 4,300 ft
(1,311 m) of LRT at-grade alignment of which 4,100 ft (1,250 m) is inside the existing
Weehawken Tunnel, a mid-tunnel LRT station – Bergenline Avenue Station, and a NJ Transit
bus plaza and station entrance at the surface located at the northwest corner of Bergenline
Avenue and 49th Street.
The majority of the existing tunnel is unlined and the highly irregular rock surface is
exposed. The linings are composed of brick arches and ashlar stone masonry sidewalls. Bricklined
zones are present either at rock zones of poor rock quality or at construction shafts. The