Alameda Corridor East Grade Separation Project – Baldwin Avenue Grade Separation

Alameda Corridor East Grade Separation Project

AVA’s Role: Anil Verma Associates, Inc. (AVA) was part of the LAN Engineering team selected to provide construction management services for four grade separation projects as part of the Phase I ACE Project. AVA’s responsibilities included inspection, office engineering, and field engineering.

The ACE Project was a corridor-wide improvement program designed to reduce vehicular congestion at railroad crossings and improve safety and mobility at 44 grade crossings. The program included construction of 21 grade separations along approximately 35 miles from Redondo Junction in East Los Angeles to Pomona in Los Angeles County.

The improvements were intended to reduce the impacts of Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) crossings. The ACE Project serves approximately 1.8 million residents across 30 municipalities and connects the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to the transcontinental rail network.

Baldwin Avenue Grade Separation

AVA provided construction management services, with responsibilities for inspection and safety oversight. The project included a concrete railroad bridge, a steel pedestrian bridge, a roadway underpass, shoofly tracks, retaining walls, a pump station, landscaping, drainage, sewer and water improvements, and extensive utility relocation work.

AVA coordinated its services with the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), the City of El Monte, the City of Temple City, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, the Los Angeles County Sanitation District, and numerous utility companies, including Southern California Edison, AT&T, Sprint, Southern California Gas, and California American Water.

Description: The Baldwin Avenue Grade Separation Project, located in the City of El Monte, required Baldwin Avenue to be lowered approximately 25 feet below the existing Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) tracks. The project required construction of a shoofly track to maintain uninterrupted UPRR revenue-service operations prior to construction of the new railroad bridge.

The bridge superstructure was constructed with prestressed concrete beams and a cast-in-place concrete deck. The bridge and retaining wall foundations were supported on driven steel H-piles averaging 45 feet in depth. The Baldwin Avenue underpass roadway was constructed in accordance with Public Works (Greenbook) and Caltrans standard construction specifications.

The project also included a 45-foot-deep, below-grade concrete pump station; a new access road; resurfacing and restoration of adjacent streets; dedicated pedestrian walkways; street lighting; roadway signage; traffic signals; road striping; a 36-inch-diameter sewer siphon; sewer pipelines; relocation of water, gas, and power lines; and installation of new curbs, gutters, and sidewalks.