Focus on the Field: BNSF Ono Lead Track Extension

Crews squeeze into a narrow job site to add rail track.

Ames crews are working in tight spaces to add an additional storage track at an intermodal facility in San Bernardino, California.

Work on the project began on Jan. 2, 2023. With only 15 to 20 feet of working space between tracks and private homes in some locations, the project team is coordinating temporary easements with property owners, establishing ingress/egress points, and communicating via radios.

Another big challenge is coordinating with the five different agencies that control different scopes of Ames’ work. The project manager and three engineers hold regular office and field meetings with representatives of the different agencies to ensure communication and continual progress.

Finally, the project site is the main avenue for drainage for the city and surrounding neighborhoods. Crews have installed multiple retention ponds, and they check dams and berms to control the flow of water. This helps to ensure that work can proceed following a rain event while the surrounding area continues to drain for several days.

Crews and their activities include:

• Grading crew led by Foreman Tyler Morrison: Moving 30,000 cubic yards of material for trenches, ditches, and grading for a new track.
• Utility crew led by Foreman Shea McClean: Installing over 10,000 linear feet of water, sewer, and storm drain lines in multiple areas.
• Site crew led by Foreman Scott Hover: Maintaining the site as Ames works in multiple neighborhoods; managing and supporting more than 10 subcontractors.
• Structures crew led by Foreman Richie Espinoza: Forming and pouring pile caps, concrete trenches, and barrier walls using nearly 8,000 cubic yards of concrete.