Oregon City Siding Work Plan



ConnectOregon Project PlanPASSENGER AND FREIGHT RAIL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTBrooklyn Subdivision Rail Corridor – Oregon City Siding Project5039112113189Submitted in accordance with OAR 731-035-0065 XX 2019TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction1Project scope of work, purpose and need2Location2Scope of Work2Project Purpose…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2Anticipated project benefits including transportation connections3Safety …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3State of Good Repair ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4Economic Competiveness …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4Increases Sustainability ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7Improves Reliability 8Project schedule including design and construction, acquisition of necessary permits and other key milestones, including how the Project Sponsor will be able to begin construction no later than January 1, 2020 .......................................................................…………………………………………………… 8Expected service life of the project.11An estimate of the design and capital construction costs necessary to build the facility necessary to support its operation11Written concurrence from an authorized agent from the relevant rail entity(s) indicating agreement with the Project Plan and Proposal associated with its concurrence;11Evidence of necessary site ownership or control12Cover Image by Sam BeebeiINTRODUCTIONIn 2016, the Oregon Legislature allocated $2.6 million in dedicated ConnectOregon funding for dispersal by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to Union Pacific Railroad (UP) for constructing a new siding at Brooks, Oregon on UP’s Brooklyn Subdivision. Subsequently, UP concluded more benefit would be derived from a reactivated siding (Project) at Oregon City. In accordance with OAR 731-035-0065, to receive ConnectOregon funds for construction, UP must submit a Project Plan to ODOT and the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC), who must approve the Project Plan to obligate the construction funding.The requirements of the Project Plan are spelled out in OAR 731-035-0065 (5)(b). Per the statute, a Project Plan shall include:Project scope of work, purpose and need;Anticipated Project benefits including transportation connections;Description of area and entities expected to be served by the facility;Project schedule including design and construction, acquisition of necessary permits and other key milestones, including how the Project Sponsor will be able to begin construction no later than January 2020;Expected service life of the project;An estimate of the design and capital construction costs necessary to build the facility necessary to support its operation;Written concurrence from an authorized agent from the relevant rail entity(s) indicating agreement with the Project Plan and Proposal associated with its concurrence;Evidence of necessary site ownership or control.The following Project Plan is organized in the order of the plan components as listed above.Under OAR 731-035-0065, the grantee is entitled to seek reimbursement for its costs to prepare this Project Plan. UP, however, has chosen to prepare this Project Plan at its own expense.PROJECT SCOPE OF WORK, PURPOSE AND NEEDLocationThe project location lies within the Portland Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) (Oregon’s largest urban MPO, accounting for 40% of the state’s population and more than 50% of non-farm employment). The siding is within Oregon City, Oregon, which is surrounded by a number of smaller communities in the area of Southeast Portland. The 2017 population of the Portland, Oregon/Multnomah/Clackamas County area is 1,215,617. The project location lies along the UP single track mainline between State Highway 99E and the Willamette River for approximately 6,200 linear feet, between the turnouts. The project rehabilitates and returns to service a retired siding that previously supported the Blue Heron Paper Mill, which ceased operation in 2011. Downtown Oregon City is located at the north end of the project. No at-grade road crossings are within the project area. Figure 1 provides the vicinity map.Figure 1: Vicinity MapVicinity Map of Oregon City as it relates to the greater Portland areaScope of WorkFully Funded ProjectThe fully funded Project will rehabilitate and upgrade a 6,200-foot out-of-service siding track at Oregon City. This project consists of:Two new turnouts and dispatcher controlled power switches at MP 755.6 and 754.46 Switch heater on each power switch Grading, ballast, ties and railSignal improvements required to create a controlled siding and to integrate the siding into existing CTC and PTC control systems The locations of the proposed improvements are indicated on Attachment A.Project Work for $2.6MProject work that could occur for $2.6M would include installation of stub-end track (partial siding restoration), which is approximately $1.3M and installation of one power switch and signals for approximately $1.3M.The potential operation with particle siding restoration is that Amtrak could make a “two-step” meet where one train pulls into the stub track, waits for the other Amtrak train to pass, then backs out and again changes direction to resume its original journey.Project PurposeThe Project, once fully completed, will provide another passing siding where passenger and freight trains can meet or pass while traversing 117 miles of single track between Eugene and a double track section beginning 9 miles to the north at Willsburg Junction. Under the current schedule, Amtrak Cascade trains make a meet in this area, and adjacent sidings are often already occupied by other trains. This siding is intended to reduce the passenger train delay between Eugene and Portland and also afford scheduling flexibility. ANTICIPATED PROJECT BENEFITS INCLUDING TRANSPORTATION CONNECTIONSSafetyMovement of people and goods by rail is safer than movement of the same people and goods by highway vehicle. Shifting freight and passengers to rail is likely to reduce transportation-related fatalities and injuries by reducing the number of vehicle miles traveled. It is expected that between 2015 and 2035, rail ridership between Portland and Eugene will account for 527 million miles of travel. Assuming 56% of these riders have access to a car and, absent available train service, would drive at an average occupancy of 1.46 passengers per occupied vehicle, passenger rail service could reduce vehicle miles of travel between the communities by 202 million miles. At commonly expected rates of accidents and fatalities, the operation of passenger rail service between Portland and Eugene may help avoid one vehicle fatality, 70 minor accidents and 90 property damage incidents between 2019 and 2030.Railroads’ annual investment to modernize and improve America’s freight rail network have significantly contributed to freight rail’s strong safety record. In fact, a direct correlation exists between the increase in rail network investments and enhanced safety performance. With record levels of private spending on capital improvements and maintenance over the last five years and more than $25 billion annually on average, America’s privately owned railroads are at the forefront of advancing safety.2018 rail safety data continue to show that recent years have been the safest on record for the rail sector. According to recent FRA data based on per million train miles, since 2009 the:Train accident rate is down 10%Equipment-cause accident rate is down 11%Track-caused accident rate is down 26%Derailment rate is down 9%Employee injury rate is down 16%Hazmat accident rate is down 48% (2008-2017)Grade crossing collision rate is down 37% (2000-2018)State of Good RepairThe Project will contribute positively to the state of good repair of both the rail and the highway systems in Oregon. Renewing and improving the 6,200 foot of out of service siding track at Oregon City will create a new passing siding and meet location in the northern Willamette Valley. Constructing two new power switches, installing switch heaters, replacing ties and rail and installing signal improvements will return the Oregon City Siding to a state of good repair.Installing switch heaters on the new turnouts will also help to reduce winter delays and outages. In Oregon, snow and ice can accumulate quickly compromising a dispatcher’s ability to operate a switch remotely. These switch heaters will facilitate continuous remote switch operation under most winter conditions, thereby maintaining safe, efficient, and fluid movement of trains through the area.Economic CompetitivenessRail is an important means of moving people and freight within Oregon. The ability to move goods and passengers in a safe, reliable and efficient manner is key to increasing economic competitiveness within the State of Oregon. Reducing bottlenecks, such as those seen in the immediate area of the Brooklyn Subdivision, will contribute to more fluid movement of people and goods towards the Ports of Portland, Vancouver, Tacoma and Seattle improving connectivity within the corridor, internationally and globally.This project will increase economic competitiveness by promoting a more efficient system for the movement of goods and people. This will benefit the traveling public, the businesses dependent on rail for freight deliveries and businesses in industrial southeast Portland. Improving passenger rail times and reliability on the Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor (PNWRC) will develop stronger economic connections between the major cities and economic centers of the Cascadia mega-region: Eugene, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. Rail passengers, benefitting from reduced transit times, will be able to use their time for more economically productive purposes. According to conductor delay information provided by Amtrak, passenger trains currently average about 6 minutes per delay incident north and south of this location. Reducing this delay will encourage people to choose rail as a transportation option because it will be more reliable and offer a more competitive transit time versus highway. The Association of American Railroads states that American industries rely on freight rail to get their goods and products to markets in the U.S. and abroad. Railroads create a positive economic effect across U.S. industries, make consistently high investments and overall, result in supporting the economy in the following ways:The rail network allows industry and consumer connections to worldwide marketplaces.Local growth from funds are infused back into the economy and government budgets. These benefits come at a savings of billions of dollars each year for taxpayers because America's freight railroads operate on infrastructure that they own, build, maintain and pay for themselves, spending an average of $25 billion a year on infrastructure and equipment across their privately-owned networks.Railroads move approximately 35% of all U.S. exports, allowing American industry to be more competitive in the worldwide economy.The freight rail industry produces some of the nation’s best-paid jobs and actively recruits military veterans.Rail supported industry jobs are maintained in the region.With a single train hauling hundreds of truckloads worth of freight, the rail infrastructure eases the impact on the Oregon’s overcrowded highways and therefore, the taxpayers.With rail infrastructure improvements, reliability and on-time passenger train performance increases, the Amtrak Cascades service in Oregon will likely have increased ridership and become a more accepted choice for travel along the PNWRC.Freight rail is a crucial part of an integrated network of trains, trucks and barges that, at an absolute scale, ships around 54 tons of goods per each American every year.Many commuters and business people travel within the corridor on freight rail lines as Amtrak trains operate on tracks owned by freight railroads, as do commuter railroads around the Seattle area. Without an efficient rail network, U.S. industries would incur higher costs, and those costs would be passed on as higher prices on the goods used every day.Passenger rail service supports tourism in Oregon. In 2017, direct travel spending in Oregon totaled $12.3 billion and an estimated 28.8 million overnight visitors traveled to Oregon destinations. Five percent of all visitation arrived by train.The railroad network supports economic competitiveness by moving goods more efficiently than other modes of transportation. One train can move one ton more than 470 miles on one gallon of fuel, cutting harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Moving freight by rail instead of truck lowers greenhouse gas emissions by 75%. Freight rail helps prices remain low by efficiently moving energy materials such as coal, natural gas and crude oil. Railroads move approximately 70% of U.S. coal to its destination, which is equivalent to the amount that is needed to power 78% of American homes. In addition to energy products, the rail industry also moved 1.6 million car loads of farm products in 2017.Railroads are critical to the nation’s food security. Freight rail transports the feed for livestock as well as the food eaten, from canned goods, fresh fruits and vegetables to corn, soybean oil, chickens, etc. In 2018, U.S. Class I railroads moved nearly 1.5 million carloads of grain and other farm products and about 1.6 million carloads of food products.Roughly 165,000 people earning $125,400 per year (in total compensation), are employed by the railroads. Regularly, railroad employees may spend a substantial portion of their salaries or wages in their respective community.Freight railroads employ roughly 165,000 people – the vast majority of whom are unionized and earn an average of $125,400 per year in total compensation – 60% more than the average U.S. employee.The Oregon City area is identified as an Oregon Opportunity Zone. With a population of 8,044 citizens, 4,055 in the civilian labor force, this area is identified as a 2011-2015 low income community with unemployment at 5.8%. A total of 456 businesses exist within this opportunity zone. Figure 2 provides the Oregon Opportunity Zones around Oregon City.Figure 2: Oregon Opportunity ZonesImproving train fluidity in the vicinity of the Oregon City Siding will allow stakeholders to work together on other challenges impacting both freight and passenger rail along this corridor. By collectively addressing these constraints, ODOT, UP and Amtrak, through public-private partnerships, will continue to analyze impacts to efficiency, develop project lists and work together to fund and construct these improvements to allow increased capacity, reliability and performance within the PNWRC. Increases SustainabilityImprovements to the infrastructure within the Brooklyn Subdivision can attract drivers to move to rail, a more efficient mode of transportation. With increased ridership due to better reliability and on-time performance, more motorists will look to the rail system to travel within the corridor and to points beyond. Train travel creates less emissions and provides a more efficient means of travel. Traffic volumes and vehicle drive times continue to increase in and around the Portland area, and the travel times on local roadways and interstates become less reliable. This increase in driving travel time along I-5 makes intercity passenger rail a more viable alternative. With continued investment in rail along this segment of the PNWRC, the Amtrak Cascades service would likely see increased ridership, demand, and on-time performance. This is evidenced in the Oregon Passenger Rail Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement. With the reduction in delay for passenger trains anticipated with this project, idling by passenger trains experiencing meets in this area is expected to be reduced. In addition, these trains currently make meets at adjacent sidings which have road crossings and cause vehicles to idle when making meets. Making passenger trains meets at the reactivated Oregon City siding will have the secondary benefit of reducing the idling time for vehicles at the crossings for these adjacent sidings.Improves ReliabilityRailroads manage their current infrastructure with the goal of meeting commitments to both freight customers and passenger train operators. Adding sidings or passing tracks enhances the fluidity of the entire corridor and allows more efficient movement of both freight and passengers. As train conflicts are reduced by improvements such as the improvements outlined in this project plan, passenger rail reliability and on-time performance are expected to increase. Funding of this grant would provide another piece of infrastructure within the PNWRC that can reduce delays, decrease travel times between Portland and Eugene, Oregon, and increase on-time performance. With continued investment in improvements such as this, passenger rail travel will become a more viable and attractive alternative to driving.PROJECT SCHEDULE INCLUDING DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, ACQUISITION OF NECESSARY PERMITS AND OTHER KEY MILESTONES, INCLUDING HOW THE PROJECT SPONSOR WILL BE ABLE TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION NO LATER THAN JANUARY 1, 2020Final design of the siding will require a detailed survey to analyze cross sections and profiles for preparing the subgrade for ballast, tie, and rail placement. Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) interface design will be completed by UP and programmed into their existing CTC/Positive Train Control (PTC) network. Turnout construction will be done onsite and set into place on two separate night shifts to reduce impacts to mainline traffic. Signal part will take much longer: running wires, laying cables, installing signal masts, constructing signal houses, etc.The following is a list of key milestones from the project schedule. Estimated Project start date (To be determined based upon award date.)Estimated survey and design of track and signal layout complete (6-8 months after project start date)Track removal, grading and sub ballast begin upon completion of survey design Ties and track, ballast , right-hand and left-hand turnouts begin upon completion of grading and sub ballastSignal Implementation/programming begin upon completion of track workEstimated Project Completion (To be determined based upon award date.)Figure 3 provides a conceptual project schedule, which could be subject to change.Figure 3: Conceptual Project ScheduleEXPECTED USEFUL LIFE OF THE PROJECTWith routine maintenance, including the replacement of sections of worn rail and wooden ties if needed, the expected –service life of the project should extend well beyond 50 years. Other CTC-controlled sidings on the Brooklyn Subdivision are 61 years old and in daily use. AN ESTIMATE OF THE DESIGN AND CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION COSTS NECESSARY TO BUILD THE FACILITY NECESSARY TO SUPPORT ITS OPERATIONThe cost of the Project is estimated to be $5.55 million. As shown in Table 1, this estimate includes: engineering, track removal, track construction, site work and signals. This cost estimate is based on preliminary design, current prices, and estimated volumes. The actual project cost may vary from this cost estimate due to changes in prices at the time of procurement and due to differences in the final design as compared to the preliminary designTable 1: Project Cost EstimateEngineering QTYUnitCostTotalUnion Pacific Engineering 1LS$200,000$200,000.000Contracted Engineering1LS$250,000$250,000.000Flagging 120Days$1,200$144,000.00Track RemovalContracted Track Removal6200LF$25.00$155,000.00LH PPTO -136# - #15 PO with XL Spring Frog1EA$251,340.00$251,340.00RH PPTO -136# - #15 PO with XL Spring Frog1EA$251,340.00$251,340.00Track -136# CWRISO 24 – 8’6” HWD Ties N 16 TP6200LF$280.00$1,736,000.00Site Work Place 12” Sub ballast13250T$44.00$583,000.00Signal Engineering1LS$1,500,000$1,500,000.00Sub-Total$4,820,000.00Contingency (15%)$723,000.00Total Cost $5,543,000.00WRITTEN CONCURRENCE FROM AN AUTHORIZED AGENT FROM THE RELEVANT RAIL ENTITY(S) INDICATING AGREEMENT WITH THE PROJECT PLAN AND PROPOSAL ASSOCIATED WITH ITS CONCURRENCESee the appendix.EVIDENCE OF NECESSARY SITE OWNERSHIP OR CONTROLUP owns and controls the right-of-way for the tracks in the project area, and it is anticipated that the project will be constructed on UP-owned right of way. Further engineering work will refine the scope of construction and determine if any right of way would need to be acquired. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download