Railway Track & Structures - April 2008 - (Page 10)

I N D U S T R Y T O D AY machine installed more than 800 precast concrete segments forming the lining of the tunnel. The tunnels tie in with the Beacon Hill station 160 feet below the surface. Obayashi is building both the tunnels and the underground stations, along with the elevated Mt. Baker Station at Rainier and McClellan Avenues. More than six million man-hours have gone into light rail construction since the project broke ground. $24 million proposed for BART's earthquake program California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced a state allocation of $24 million to help ensure the safety of the BART passengers who travel through the Transbay Tube. This award will help fund BART's Earthquake Safety Program and is earmarked mainly to strengthen the Transbay Tube. The $24 million is part of the 2008 allocation of the California voter-approved Proposition 1B, which enacted the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006. “In 2004, voters in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco Counties approved Measure AA, the BART Earthquake Safety Bond,” said BART General Manager Dorothy Dugger. “Measure AA provides $980 million of the $1.3 billion needed to strengthen our system.” The Earthquake Safety Program addresses the original system completed between 1972 and 1976, with a service area spanning three counties (San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa). System extensions built mostly during the 1990s employed more stringent and up-to-date seismic criteria than the original system, and thus do not require upgrades. The original BART system includes 74 miles of track, 34 stations (11 aerial, 14 subway and nine at-grade), the Transbay Tube, the Berkeley Hills Tunnel, several train maintenance yards, terminal, operations and administration facilities and power, mechanical, train control and communications equipment. February crosstie report After a good start in January, purchases held strong in February, increasing eight percent. Purchases were 36 percent higher than the five past Februarys, while production was 24 percent higher than the past five years. Inventories dropped 1.7 percent during the month. Year-to-date market data. Purchases were 21 percent above this past year, while production was four percent above. Annual market data. Production peaked in September 2006 at 22.6 million ties and has slowly eased from that level to 20.5 million in December 2007 and climbed to 21.1 million currently. Purchases peaked in February 2007 at 22 million ties, then followed a rather uneven path down to 19.85 million in June 2007 and have recovered to 20.4 million currently. Compared to year-ago levels, purchases are about seven percent down, while production is four percent down. Inventories increased by four percent during the year. The inventory-to-sales ratio at 0.81 is equal to its five-year average. Copyright RTA, 2008 10 Railway Track & Structures April 2008 www.rtands.com http://www.rtands.com

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Railway Track & Structures - April 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Railroads Seeking More Advanced Systems to Handle Materials SKOL Bounces Back From Summer Flood Landmark Railroad Bridges Need Inspection, Too Products and Literature People Calendar Sales Representatives Advertisers Index Website Directory Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - April 2008

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