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J&L Tunnel - Updates & Progress Archive
CSX, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Officials Celebrate Midway Point of National Gateway Phase One Progress
Upgraded Freight Rail Corridor Scheduled for Spring 2013 Completion
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – October 23, 2012 – CSX Corporation Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Michael J. Ward today joined federal, state and local officials from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to mark the midway point of progress on the first phase of projects for the National Gateway.
The National Gateway is an $850 million public-private partnership launched in 2008 to alleviate freight bottlenecks in the Midwest that cause delays for companies and consumers shipping or receiving freight from west coast ports by creating a double-stack cleared corridor for intermodal rail shipments between the Midwest and the mid-Atlantic ports. Once completed, the National Gateway will help provide CSX customers with better access to competitive, environmentally friendly double-stack intermodal freight rail service.
The celebration took place at Pittsburgh’s SouthSide Works, where the $13 million J&L Tunnel project will soon become the latest Phase One project to increase the vertical clearance on CSX rail lines to accommodate trains carrying double-stack intermodal containers. Phase One, creating double-stack rail access between CSX’s state-of-the-art intermodal terminal in Northwest Ohio, and its new modern intermodal terminal in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, is scheduled to be completed by spring 2013, and will enable more freight to move through the region on the same number of trains.
The J&L Tunnel clearance project, an upgrade to a tunnel built in the 1880s that runs directly through the SouthSide Works complex, will help alleviate pressure on regional highways and lower the cost of doing business in the Pittsburgh region by improving access to intermodal freight shipping options.
The J&L Tunnel upgrade and other National Gateway projects are funded through contributions by CSX and the federal government, as well as a $35 million Pennsylvania Transportation Assistance Program (TAP) Grant. The State of Ohio is also contributing $30 million to this first phase of clearance work.
“We are proud that we have been able to work with our partners in the federal and state government, communities and the private sector to invest in strategic transportation infrastructure that will alleviate highway congestion and enable our customers to better leverage rail, the most environmentally friendly way to ship goods over land,” said Ward.
As one of the nation’s largest transportation projects, National Gateway will create more than 50,000 jobs over a 30-year period, including more than 9,000 jobs for Pennsylvania. When completed in 2015, to coincide with the expansion of the Panama Canal, which is expected to increase traffic through East Coast ports, the National Gateway will provide more than $1.6 billion in public benefits to Pennsylvania in the route's first 30 years of operations by decreasing fuel consumption, lowering emissions, improving safety, reducing highway maintenance costs and saving shipping costs.
To learn more about the National Gateway, visit www.nationalgateway.org.
National Gateway Clearance Project:
J&L Tunnel Southside Works Information Session
Allegheny County Pittsburgh, PA
CSX Transportation (CSXT) has scheduled an Information Session to discuss the J&L Tunnel Raising which is part of the National Gateway clearance improvement. The J&L Tunnel is located beneath Tunnel Park (between South Water Street and Tunnel Boulevard) within the Southside Works Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Date:
March 21, 2012
Time:
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Location:
SpringHill Suites Meeting Room
Pittsburgh Southside Works
2950 South Water St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15203
About the Project
The J&L Tunnel was constructed in the 1880s as part of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad line. The tunnel allowed railroad operations beneath the former J&L Steel Company’s Pittsburgh Works Southside facility. Currently the area over the tunnel is used as green space within the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Southside Works. The tunnel is still used as part of CSXT’s existing rail infrastructure.
The tunnel roof will be raised in three sections in order to accommodate double-stack intermodal container carriers. Two abandoned bridges at the ends of the tunnel will be removed. This work is part of the National Gateway project, which will allow for the use of more efficient and environmentally beneficial double-stack trains. The National Gateway received National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) approval November 2010. The initiative, involving bridge replacements, tunnel work and track lowerings along CSXT’s railroad between the east coast and northwest Ohio, is to obtain necessary vertical clearance required to allow more efficient and environmentally beneficial double-stack trains to pass.
Why Attend the Information Session?
By attending the Information Session, you will be able to learn more about the project, including road closures and construction work intervals, and discuss the project with the study team. Attendees may arrive at any point during the meeting time as small discussion groups will continue throughout the session. We encourage participation and welcome questions on the project.
CSX is committed to ensuring that no person is excluded from participation in bitcoin profit, or denied the benefits of, its projects, programs and services on the basis of race, color, national origin or gender, as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or on the basis of disability as provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you need special accommodations or language assistance services (translation or interpretation), please email [email protected]. These services will be provided free of charge.
Snow Policy
The public meetings will be rescheduled if the county in which the meetings are located has a "Snow Emergency Plan" in effect on the day of the meetings, or if the county's public schools have been closed and evening activities canceled.
Visit www.JLTunnel.com to learn more about National Gateway projects.
CSX Transportation is soliciting proposals from previously prequalified design/build teams for a project to reconstruct the J&L Tunnel in Pittsburgh, PA. The objective of the project is to increase the vertical clearance of the structure and restore surface facilities impacted by such construction. Major components of the work will involve design and construction of the following: removal of existing tunnel roof and existing bridges on either side of the tunnel; rebuilding of tunnel roof to new elevation; and restoration of surface areas and facilities above the tunnel, to include parks, roadways, monuments, and related amenities.
To be considered for award, a contractor must be on CSX Transportation’s List of Pre-Qualified Design-Build Teams, and be represented at the Pre-Bid Meeting.
The Pre-Bid Meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 9:00 AM at Spring Hill Suites, 2950 South Water Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15203, and will be followed by a Site Visit. All participants in the Site Visit must be properly attired with all necessary personal protective equipment including hard hat, safety glasses with side shields, highly reflective safety vests, laced work boots at least 6 inches high with a safety toe, and hearing protection. No loose jewelry, including rings, is to be worn, while on railroad property. No exceptions to these requirements will be allowed.
Proposal and Contract Document packages can be obtained by registering at the Project Document Management (PDM) website provided by CSX’s Construction Management Team - http://pdm.hillintl.com.
Questions concerning this project must be submitted via e-mail to [email protected].
CSX Transportation is soliciting Statements of Pre-Qualification from entities interested in providing Design/Build services for the J&L Tunnel Clearance Improvement Project. This project is part of the CSXT National Gateway program.
CSXT will use a two-phase procurement process to select a Design/Build Team. This Request for Pre-Qualifications is issued as part of the first phase to solicit qualifications that CSXT will use to determine which Design/Build Teams meet a minimum set of requirements to successfully deliver the project. Statements of Pre-Qualification are due April 22, 2011.
The project location is in Pittsburgh, PA within the Southside Works development between Hot Metal Street and 26th Street adjacent to the Monongahela River. Project work includes all work associated with increasing the vertical clearance inside the tunnel and removal of overhead structures in the vicinity of both tunnel portals. The estimated construction cost for this project is $15 to $25 million.
For further information and visit:
www.nationalgateway.org<http://www.nationalgateway.org>.
Copies of the RFPQ can be obtained by contacting:
Robert Victor
AECOM
Four Gateway Center - 20th Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
CSX Transportation is soliciting Statements of Pre-Qualification from entities interested in providing Design/Build services for the J&L Tunnel Clearance Improvement Project. This project is part of the CSXT National Gateway program.
CSXT will use a two-phase procurement process to select a Design/Build Team. This Request for Pre-Qualifications is issued as part of the first phase to solicit qualifications that CSXT will use to determine which Design/Build Teams meet a minimum set of requirements to successfully deliver the project. Statements of Pre-Qualification are due April 22, 2011.
The project location is in Pittsburgh, PA within the Southside Works development between Hot Metal Street and 26th Street adjacent to the Monongahela River. Project work includes all work associated with increasing the vertical clearance inside the tunnel and removal of overhead structures in the vicinity of both tunnel portals. The estimated construction cost for this project is $15 to $25 million.
For further information and visit:
www.nationalgateway.org<http://www.nationalgateway.org>.
Copies of the RFPQ can be obtained by contacting:
Robert Victor
AECOM
Four Gateway Center - 20th Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
CSX Transportation is soliciting Statements of Pre-Qualification from entities interested in providing Design/Build services for the J&L Tunnel Clearance Improvement Project. This project is part of the CSXT National Gateway program.
CSXT will use a two-phase procurement process to select a Design/Build contractor to deliver this project. This Request for Pre-Qualifications is issued as part of the first phase to solicit information that CSXT will evaluate to shortlist Design/Build Teams that are the most qualified to successfully deliver the project. Statements of Pre-Qualification are due July 19, 2010.
The project location is in Pittsburgh, PA within the Southside Works development between Hot Metal Street and 26th Street adjacent to the Monongahela River. Project work includes all work associated with increasing the vertical clearance inside the tunnel and removal of overhead structures in the vicinity of both tunnel portals. The estimated construction cost for this project is $15 to $25 million.
For further information visit: www.nationalgateway.org.
Copies of the RFPQ can also be obtained by contacting:
Robert Victor
AECOM
Four Gateway Center – 20th Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
412.395.8888
[email protected]
Somerset
March 9, 2010 4:30 p.m.to 7:30 p.m. Open House Format
Quality Inn Conference Center
215 Ramada Road
Somerset, PA 15501
Pittsburgh
March 4, 2010 4:30 p.m.to 7:30 p.m. Open House Format
University Club at Pitt
123 University Place
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
CSX Transportation (CSXT) will host two public open houses to discuss the National Gateway rail infrastructure enhancements.
The initiative involves bridge replacements, tunnel work, and track lowerings along CSXT’s railroad between Coraopolis and Hyndman, Pennsylvania to obtain necessary vertical clearance required to allow more efficient and environmentally beneficial double-stack trains to pass.
Due to the snow emergency, the public meetings scheduled for National Gateway projects in Allegheny, Bedford and Somerset Counties have been cancelled. The meetings were to be held Tuesday, February 9 at the Quality Inn Conference Center in Somerset, Pennsylvania and Wednesday, February 10 at the University Club at Pitt in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. These meetings will be rescheduled and announced shortly.