After more than four years of work, the 25th Avenue Grade Separation project for owner Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board/Caltrain is reaching completion. The project involves multiple work scopes, including raising two miles of track (max of 24 feet) onto new MSE walls and bridges, building three traffic grade-crossings beneath the tracks, and building a new Caltrain station, and is a testament to the breadth of work Shimmick is capable of self-performing.
Shimmick served as prime contractor alongside partner Disney Construction in a fully integrated JV, allowing the team to utilize the experience and skillset of both companies.
Shimmick’s Electrical division was involved from start to finish and performed all electric work, including train signals, traffic signals, street and platform lighting and communication systems. Legacy Foundations, Shimmick’s drilling division, drilled 30 CIDH piles from 3 feet to 6 feet in diameter up to 100 feet deep. Shimmick’s track crews demolished the old tracks and constructed the new tracks.
“We take on projects that don’t fit a specific mold,” says Shimmick Project Manager Lucas Stevenson.
Also contributing to the effort were approximately 25 subcontractors, including steel reinforcement, lightweight cellular concrete, landscaping, asphalt, flatwork, track survey and certification, and track tamping subcontractors.
Significant Community Impacts
The project is part of an effort throughout California to build out the state’s high-speed rail and will help the surrounding community in several ways. Raising the track and eliminating grade crossings is considerably safer for the traveling public, removing the need to stop or slow down when the road crosses the track. This will also ease congestion around grade crossings and connect the west and east sides of San Mateo City more directly and quickly. The old train system had a maximum speed of 79 miles per hour. The future California high speed rail trains will travel up to 110 mph, due to system improvements and the elimination of these grade crossings.
Congrats to everyone who touched this challenging project and good luck in the final stages of closeout!