January 2019
TEXRail commuter line opens in North Texas
FORT WORTH, TX – North Texas commuters now have a direct connection between downtown Fort Worth and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport via Trinity Metro's TEXRail, a new 27-mile commuter transit line.
Built by Archer Western and joint venture partner Herzog Contracting Group, along with designers Parsons and TranSystems, the $1.034 billion project broke ground in August 2016 and officially opened to the public on January 10, 2019. “The performance of the AWH construction team was fantastic,” said North Richland Hills Mayor Oscar Trevino.
The TEXRail corridor stretches from downtown Fort Worth, across northeast Tarrant County, through North Richland Hills and Grapevine and into DFW International Airport's Terminal B.
“Our team’s performance was remarkable, completing this very complex project within an accelerated schedule, working multiple shifts seven days a week, overcoming record breaking rain falls and all in a safe manner with a high level of quality,” said Kenny Crabb, program manager with Archer Western.
The railway includes nine stations, two of which are existing and shared with the Trinity Railway Express service in downtown Fort Worth. In addition to the two common stations, the TEXRail line will share the DFW Airport-North Station with the future planned DART Cotton Belt East Line that will connect TEXRail another 27-miles to the suburb of Plano. DART Cotton Belt is a $763 million design-build project which the Archer Western Herzog JV received Notice to Proceed on January 7, 2019.
“We are incredibly proud to be part of this historic project and to continue our delivery of best-in-class transit across Dallas/Fort Worth,” said Gary Geppert, vice president and business group leader with Archer Western. “The dedication of our construction and engineering teams, paired with a seamless partnership with Trinity Metro led to the safe and successful creation of a transit line that will benefit North Texans well into the future.”
Most of the new line was built parallel or on shared track with Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Union Pacific, Amtrack, TRE Commuter Rail and Fort Worth & Western shortline.
“Each project segment contained its own unique challenges. The project team had to develop multiple work plans to comply with six different jurisdictional authorities' specifications in order to accomplish their objective. Hearing first hand the buzz and energy displayed by the public, you could sense just how important this project is to the cities it passes through, and also the game changer that it is for commuters. I am extremely proud to be associated with the project team that accomplished this very challenging project,” said Clayton Sorrells, senior project manager with Archer Western.
One of the most challenging components of the 27-mile corridor was known as the “Hole-in-the-Wall,” an extremely tight point of convergence in downtown Fort Worth of Union Pacific Railroad, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, AMTRAK passenger rail, the Trinity Railway Express (TRE) regional commuter rail line, and TxDOT Spur-280.
“The narrow right-of-way, crowded utilities, and low headroom through Hole-in-the-Wall were a constant challenge for the team, but we had a great group working toward the same goal, and we did it” said Joe Coke, quality control inspector with Archer Western.
(Picture: Hole in the Wall section)
To accommodate the widened guideway for the new TEXRail track at the Hole-in-the-Wall, an in-place replacement of the existing TxDOT Spur-280 straddle bent cap and columns overhead was engineered with exacting precision, and was completed between bridge replacement phases during two separately planned, 36-hour freight railroad shutdowns. The project team completed the work safely, efficiently, and to the highest standard of quality.
TEXRail terminates at DFW International Airport's Terminal B Station, a new $31 million station also constructed by Archer Western that features a walkway connecting to the existing DART station adjacent to Terminal A, and makes it possible for riders to easily transfer between the transit systems or access Terminal A.
(Picture: DFW Airport Terminal B Station)
TEXRail is projected to serve more than 8,000 daily riders by the end of 2019. By 2035, nearly 14,000 riders are projected to ride the system. The completion of TEXRail brings Archer Western’s total transit project delivery to more than 84 miles in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.