TRACK DESIGN AND

RAILROAD BRIDGE AND
TRACK DESIGN AND
COORDINATION ISSUES

Lloyd M. Wolf, P.E.

Coordination with Railroad

•
Meet with Railroad Early in Project
Development to Discuss

•
Railroad Track Operations are Very
Important

•
Minimize Impact on RR Operations

•
LOA and RR Agreement

Structure Type
Selection

and

Bridge Design

Superstructure Considerations

•
Safety

–
Highway Users

–
Railroad

•
Required Span for Horizontal Clearance

–
Column Protection

•
Adequate Vertical Clearance


Preferred Railroad Grade
Separations

1. Overpass

2. UPRR Steel Deck Girder Standards

3.
Deck Plate Girder w/ Steel Deck

4.
Steel Girder w/ Conc Deck

5.
Prestressed Beam w/ Conc Deck

6. Thru
-
Girder w/ Steel Deck

UPRR Deck Girder Standard

•
Depth
-
Top / Rail to Low Chord = 5’
-
5”

•
Steel Deck

•
69 ft Max


Span Length


Thru Girder

•
Depth
-
Top / Rail to Low Chord = 4’
-
6”

•
Steel Deck

•
155 ft Max


Span Length


Superstructure Considerations

•
TxDOT Design Requirements

•
UPRR
-
BNSF Design Guidelines

•
KCS Design Guidelines

•
Composite and Non
-
Composite Design

•
No Sacrificial Beams

•
Design for 30” Ballast

•
Ballast Depth for Concrete Tie



Vertical Clearance

•
Steel Deck Girder



16.5 ft

•
Steel Thru Girder
-
Bolt Bot Fl

17.5 ft

•
Prestressed Conc



17.5 ft

•
Hwy Over RR




23.33 ft

Design Development
and Review

Process

with Railroads

Railroad Underpass

•
30% Submittal
-

Exhibit “A”

•
60% Submittal

•
90% Submittal

•
100% PS&E Plans


RR Agreement with Exhibit “B”

30% Submittal
-

Exhibit “A”

•
Preliminary:

–
Bridge Layout

–
Track Plan and Profile

–
Track Typical Sections


•
Structure Type Selection Report

–
Thru Girder


•
LOA Facilitate RR Review

Structure Type Selection
Report

•
Required for Thru
-
Girder

•
Design Factors Considered

–
Underpassing Roadway Width

–
Clear Zone

–
Vertical Clearance

•
Consider All Options for Railroad

RR Requirements Sheets

60% Submittal

•
Complete Bridge Plans

•
Complete Mainline and ShooFly
Track Plans and Profiles

•
Railroad Track Standards

•
Mainline and ShooFly Typical
Sections

60% Submittal, ctd

•
Track Sections every 50 ft

•
Division of Labor

•
Sequence


of Work

90% Submittal

•
Revised Complete Bridge Plans

•
Revised Complete Mainline and
ShooFly

•
Track Plans and Profiles

•
Mainline & ShooFly Typ Sections

90% Submittal, ctd

•
Track Sections every 50 ft

•
All Parts of PS&E that Affect the
Railroad

•
All Specifications

100% Submittal

•
Complete PS&E That Affects RR

•
Complete Bridge Plans

•
Complete Mainline and ShooFly

•
Track Plans and Profiles

•
Mainline & ShooFly Typ Sections

•
Sequence and Division of Work

•
RR Agreement w/ Exhibit “B”
Attachment

Mainline Bridge
Replacement


Shoo
-
Fly Construction

Track Plans & Sequence of
Work

•
Bridge Replacement on Mainline

•
Longer Span and Increased
Clearance

•
Track Raise

•
Shoo
-
Fly Construction Best
Maintains RR Operations

Track Design Speed

•
Railroad Operating Dept


Determines Speed

•
Mainline & ShooFly Same Speed ?

–
Existing Conditions

–
Future Upgrades

–
Design Speed Agreement

Railroad Track Grade Raise

•
No Grade Raise is Desirable

•
6” Max Raise with Ballast Only

•
Use Subballast for Greater Raises

•
ShooFly Profile Grade

•
Ballast Delivery May Be an Issue

Bridge Design

and

Track Design

Resources

Bridge and Track Design
Resources

•
TxDOT and Individual Railroad

•
Use TxDOT Annotated Guidelines

–
TxDOT Website

•
BRG Project Development Web
Page

–
BRG FTP Site

•
AREMA and AASHTO

Bridge and Track Design
Resources

•
UPRR, BNSF, KCS Guidelines and
Standards

•
Updated Requirements and Standards

TxDOT Bridge FTP Site:

–
ftp://bridge:txdot1@ftp.dot.state.tx.us

–
Railroad Bridge and Track Design

Ballasted Track Construction
Specification

•
Bridge Division has a Reference
Spec Available for Project Use


•
Bridge Division is Working


to Develop Statewide


Special Spec

Thank

You

Lloyd M. Wolf, P.E.

512
-
416
-
2279

lwolf@dot.state.tx.us

Estimated Costs 2008


Bridge

and

Track

Estimated Railroad Costs 2008

Steel Deck Girder =


$350 / SF


with Steel Deck


Steel Thru Girder =


$450 / SF


with Steel Deck


Prestressed Beam =


$225 / SF


with Concrete Deck

Estimated Railroad Costs 2008

ShooFly Bridge


with Open Deck =

$350,000 / EA












Temp Special

Shoring = $60 / SF

Estimated Railroad Costs 2008

Ballasted Track =



$240 / LF


with 1 ft Raise


Ballasted Track =



$170 / LF


No Raise


Ballasted Track =



$45 / LF


Removal

Estimated Railroad Costs 2008

Turnout / Switch =


$85,000 / EA


Signal for Switch =


$50,000 / EA


Including Circuit

Estimated Railroad Costs 2008

Engineering Design Review = $100
-
175,000

And Construction Inspection


Railroad Flagging =



$900 / Day

Mainline Track Raise at Turnout

Mainline Track Raise with Ballast Retainer