Halmar delivers $590M first phase of MTA’s Park Avenue Viaduct project

Take heed to the article
3 min

This audio is auto-generated. Please tell us when you have feedback.

Crews hoisted 190,000-pound bridge sections in East Harlem and hooked up them to the newly put in assist construction beneath.

They then shortly related the observe and different methods into the remainder of the viaduct spanning Park Avenue. The trouble marked the completion of the primary section of the $590 million superstructure, early and cheaper than initially deliberate.

“Immediately’s milestone demonstrates the transformative work we will get performed in New York after we invest in transit,” mentioned New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in a information launch. “Finishing work on an elevated construction that dates again to the Gilded Age forward of schedule and beneath price range reveals what’s attainable after we modernize our infrastructure and put riders first.”

The work fashioned a part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s overhaul of the 132-year-old Park Avenue Viaduct, over which New York’s Metro North trains have rumbled for many years. The bridge alternative marks the completion of the superstructure for phase 1 of the project, 51 months forward of schedule and $93 million beneath price range, in keeping with an Oct. 6 launch.

Halmar Worldwide, the mission’s design-build contractor, changed 8,240 toes of getting older observe by way of 128 bridge installations, all whereas sustaining the Metro-North service in operation. Utilizing a custom-built gantry system that spanned Park Avenue, crews swapped out prefabricated bridge sections over 19 weekends beginning June 2024. The strategy allowed staff to elevate out deteriorated metal and concrete deck segments and set up new sections with out shutting down service on the opposite aspect of the construction.

That method emerged through the design-build procurement section between the MTA and the Nanuet, New York-based basic contractor, in keeping with the discharge. By permitting the contractor to suggest development methods, the mission eradicated the necessity for longer-term shutdowns and accelerated a number of phases concurrently. Section 2, which stretches from East 127th Avenue to East 132nd Avenue, started in Might 2024.

The $590 million first section, of which $500.9 million stemmed from federal funds, changed the viaduct’s full substructure and superstructure between East one hundred and fifteenth and East 123rd streets and put in new observe, energy, communications and sign methods, in keeping with the discharge.

The elevated construction carries 4 Metro-North tracks and 98% of the railroad’s trains every day. The viaduct connects commuters from the Bronx, Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties, in addition to Connecticut, to Grand Central Terminal. The mission varieties a part of the Grand Central Artery, which additionally consists of the terminal’s practice shed and the Park Avenue Tunnel, all greater than 100 years previous.

Whereas your entire construction for section 1 is now full, further work on the methods and observe stage will proceed by way of the winter, in keeping with the discharge. MTA expects section 1 to succeed in substantial completion in April 2026, and section 2 to complete in September 2027.