Nucor Skyline Shipped Full Length Piles For Tacoma Trestle Track and Signal Project

HISTORY

In 2008, the voters of Washington State approved the Tacoma Trestle Track and Signal project. The measure was part of a larger transportation project to increase the Sounder south line round trips, as well as Amtrak passenger service along the Tacoma corridor.

PROBLEM

The existing wooden trestle required structural upgrades to support current and any increased rail operations. Sound Transit needs to replace the wooden single-track railroad trestle with a new double-track steel and concrete bridge. The new bridge will support increased passenger and rail capacity along the corridor and improve reliability for Amtrak passenger service. The Tacoma area is an active seismic region. New construction must be able to handle frequent small magnitude earthquakes and larger, rarer events.

SOLUTION

Flatiron West, the general contractor on the project, chose Nucor Skyline as their project partner. Because Nucor Skyline has a pipe piling manufacturing facility in Longview, WA,
about a 100 miles from the job site, they were a great fit. Flatiron was able to visit the mill at any time, to ensure that progress was being made with the order. This ability gave them
piece of mind when choosing a partner. Space was very tight at the job site due to neighborhoods and daily traffic on the local roads. In addition, there was a strict delivery schedule to be adhered to for the site to keep the roads open. Nucor Skyline was able to meet the high demands of the delivery schedule and ship full length piles to the job site. This required day and night time deliveries throughout the initial phase of the project.

In the second phase of the schedule, Flatiron required Nucor Skyline to extend existing piles a minimum of 10’ and maintain the strict delivery schedule. The mill was able to order
coil rapidly, implement the changes, splice the add-on length, and keep deliveries coming to the job site. Having the mill so close to the site allowed this to happen without the interruption and delay that having an East Coast mill would have created.

“The continued cooperation of Nucor Skyline throughout the changing project parameters made life much easier for everyone involved.” — Ken Horton, Project Manager of Flatiron West

Owner
Sound Transit – Seattle, WA

General Contractor
Flatiron West – Renton, WA

Product
Pipe Piles: 48” OD x 1.00” – .500” wall / 36” OD x 1.00” – .750” wall (4,500 tons)

Project Time Frame
November 2016 through 2018