Riding the Rails

Rail Runner on Track to Reach Santa Fe

By Neal Singer

As the first phase of N.M.’s Rail Runner chugs along with increasing ridership, the next phase to bring the commuter rail to Santa Fe is rapidly speeding towards a December completion date.

Work is still on track on the 80-mi rail line that will soon link New Mexico from Belen through Albuquerque and into Santa Fe, but there have been some problems along the way.

A glimpse of both old and new, the pier caps and the abutment of the new bridge are under construction in the background while the old trestle bridge and track sits in the foreground. (Photo courtesy HDR)

First, there was the question of why the New Mexico Department of Transportation didn’t chose merely to widen Interstate 25, the artery that ties the state’s largest population base with its capital city.

That road goes through several Indian pueblos. “Anytime NMDOT is doing work on a corridor, the agency typically involves whichever native community would be directly affected,” says Chris Blewett, project manager for New Mexico’s Mid-Region Council of Governments, the quasigovernmental agency overseeing construction of the Rail Runner Express phase two and three projects that will extend track from Bernalillo (10 mi north of Albuquerque) into Santa Fe. “It’s difficult if not impossible to get additional rights of way from native communities.”

“It’s certainly possible to add another lane, but that would be more expensive than the train,” he adds.

Then there’s travel time. Blewett says that projections show that another north-south freeway lane would only decrease travel time slightly, and “there’s no huge benefit because of the traffic tie-ups that will occur at either end.”

A train that will go from the heart of one city to the heart of another will also help solve the limited road infrastructure available in Santa Fe, Blewett says. “The biggest issue is peak-period travel,” he says. “There are already major issues with parking in Santa Fe.”

Capital costs for phase one, which linked Albuquerque to the south with Los Lunas and Belen and to the north with Bernalillo, totaled $125 million. It was completed in July 2006 and has seen a steady increase in commuters, especially in the past few months as gas prices climb. Phase two, linking that region with Santa Fe, is expected to cost $275 million. The money is part of a $1.6 billion New Mexico bond project passed in 2003.

The name “Rail Runner” is a play on the name of New Mexico’s state bird, the roadrunner, known for its smooth stride and ability to cover ground rapidly.

The entire project is expected to be completed in December.

Bombardier Inc. of Thunder Bay, Canada, has already provided four rail cars and eight more are expected over the next few months. Motive Power Inc. of Boise, Idaho, will provide four locomotives for phase two, which will consist of a single track with sidings to accommodate passage of three trains out at any one time.

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The project, which passes through hilly terrain, will require 3.5 million lbs of reinforcing steel, 98,000 track ft of rail (nearly 7200 tons) and 9,000 cu yds of concrete just for rail structures and culverts.

In addition, 1,000 cu yds of concrete is needed for retaining walls, 650 cu yds for load-transfer structures and 415 cu yds for miscellaneous structures, says Angie Behrens, business development specialist for general contractor Kiewit New Mexico Co. of Albuquerque which shares management with the HERZOG Group.

A significant amount of grading is involved, with 1.2 million cu yds of dirt moved into the Waldo Canyon area to establish new grade for the track and another 600,000 cu yds moved along the I-25 median.

Construction crews encountered more than 290,000 cu yds of basalt rock deposits along the route. “We thought we could use heavy equipment to move the basalt,” says Lawrence Rael, executive director of NMCOG.

It turned out that explosives were instead required to remove it. “We hadn’t anticipated blasting and we had to amend the contract, but the team approach prevailed,” Rael adds. With a few quick adjustments to equipment and personnel, the project remained on schedule.

Another unwelcome find was more than 200,000 cu yds of Mancos shale, unsuitable for use as fill. Three-dimensional modeling by designers from Kansas City-based HNTB, the project’s national design firm, and further adjustments were needed to take care of the problem without bringing in additional materials. To keep down dust, effluent water was purchased from waste treatment projects at either end of the track and pond water from a ranch along the way.

The grade up formidable La Bajada Hill halfway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe was designed to be a manageable but hefty 3.3% incline at its steepest.

Arizona-based Windswept Organix Inc. set up barriers to prevent inlets under the southbound portion of the highway from transporting sediment to the Rio Grande, roughly 5 mi to the west.

Rael says that because the governor and Legislature set an aggressive timeline for project completion, “We did a lot of things differently than you would normally see in a construction project of this magnitude.”

A crane prepares to lift an abutment into its final location on the Rail Runner project in New Mexico. (Photo courtesy HDR)

For example, while 28 mi of Amtrak rails were already laid, “18 mi of new track required a lot of earthmoving and construction of bridges, so we did design-build,” Rael says. The remaining 34 mi will consist of existing BNSF and Santa Fe Southern rails. “We designed it as we were moving forward. We qualified contractors when we were 30% complete in design.”

By soliciting proposals as though the project was already fully designed, “we saved ourselves 12 to 18 months of process,” Rael says. “It was a gamble on both sides, but we have great co-contractors and we’re on schedule,” he adds.

Rael says another unusual approach for NMCOG was the solicitation of a number of engineering firms. NMCOG assigned tasks to each of the firms and paid them at task completion.

“Engineering firms that were hungry and got their piece done fast, we paid quickly and gave them more to do,” he says. “Others who were less hungry got their piece but didn’t get as much to do. So we got the best bang for our buck.”

Phase three of the project, taking place in Santa Fe, requires construction of grade crossings and signals including bridges, drainage, earthwork, excavation and grading, paving, pavement markings, signs, traffic signal modifications and other miscellaneous work. Cost of phase three is $17,580,000.

The project is spurring development worth $125 million around the Santa Fe Railyard, including a 400-car underground parking garage for commuters. Also expected are a 100,000-sq-ft retail center, movie theater complex, museums and galleries.

Key Players
Owner: New Mexico Department of Transportation
Design: HNTB; HDR Engineering
General Contractor: Kiewit New Mexico Co. and HERZOG, a joint venture
Subcontractors: Sanbar Construction; JD Steel/PRS; Hank Gallegos Trucking; Windswept Organix; R&B Transport; Wildcat Trucking; Schnabel Foundation; Ribbonweld LLC; Dustrol; VAE Nortrack North America

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