Slattery Skanska, along with engineering firm, Edwards and Kelcey, was awarded a design-build contract by Metro-North Railroad to construct the Highbridge Yard Rail Maintenance Facility, Bronx, NY. The scope of work for this project was to design and construct a 62,000-square-foot rail car maintenance facility (ten car lengths) with two tracks and the installation of associated maintenance and repair equipment. The facility also includes an additional 8,300 square feet of office space and employee locker rooms located on the second floor.  Other project components include the construction of 35,000 feet of track along with 32 switches and an electric substation, as well as an employee station.

The team was responsible for identification, tracking, and obtaining permits that were required by local, state, and federal agencies. Work began by isolating the existing active railroads from the construction site. The team then installed  utilities, constructed the car appearance facility (CAF), installed  gabion walls, built the substation foundation, and installed track. The CAF, which is supported by H-piles and pile caps, required erection of structural steel and installation of siding, roofing, electrical and mechanical systems. The team was able to complete 80% of the work without impacting railroad operations.

To meet the aggressive project schedule, the team utilized a prefabricated building to house all switchgear, transformers, rectifiers, and DC switchgear. The substation was completely assembled, pre-wired and tested in the shop before delivery and installation.

After the new link tracks were installed, the yard tracks, switches and pedestrian over pass were installed. Once switchover was completed, removal of the old  tracks began. Grading, final utility work, and start-up of the new substation  occurred at this time.