Ramona Boulevard Grade Separation Project, El Monte, CA

AVA’s Role: AVA provided Construction Management services with responsibilities for inspection, safety, field engineering, and other services. The project consisted of bridges, underpass roads, trackwork, retaining walls, sound walls, landscape, park restoration, drainage, power/communications ducts, and a host of other restoration work.

Description: The Ramona Grade Separation Project, located in the City of El Monte, required Ramona Boulevard to be lowered approximately twenty-six (26) feet below the railroad tracks. The project required construction of a temporary shoofly for uninterrupted revenue operations of the railroads prior to the construction of two (2) railroad bridges — one for the Union Pacific Railroad and a second for the Metrolink Commuter Rail system. The UPRR bridge superstructure was built of steel girders, while the Metrolink bridge used prestressed concrete box girders; both bridges are supported by 60-inch-diameter CIDH piles extending over 100 feet deep. An underpass access road along Ramona Boulevard was built using Caltrans standard construction guidelines and details, including RC retaining walls on CIDH piles, sound walls, a pump station for flood control and prevention, median and mitigation landscape with a drip irrigation system, restoration of an adjacent park, dedicated pedestrian walkways, road signage, traffic signals, road striping, storm drainage, a water piping system, relocation of power and communication ducts/cabling, and installation of new curbs, gutters, and sidewalks per Public Works standard (Greenbook) and the City of El Monte.