MTA, Long Island Rail Road Reconfiguration of Johnson Avenue Yard
Queens, N.Y.
Award of Merit
Project Owner/Developer: MTA – Long Island Rail Road
General Contractor: Picone/Schavione II
Construction Manager: Gannett Fleming Engineers and Architects PC
Lead Design Firm: Stantec
MEP Engineer: GG Engineering
The $27-million Johnson Avenue Yard Reconfiguration design-build project is part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority-Long Island Rail Road’s $301-million Jamaica capacity improvements, Phase I project. The work included realignment of 5,500 ft of track; construction of a relieving platform, track support and retaining wall systems; and strengthening of the nearby Sutphin Boulevard Bridge.
The project’s goal was to ensure smooth service for years to come at Jamaica Station, which serves more than 200,000 daily passengers and is the hub for the Port Authority AirTrain, a shuttle service to John F. Kennedy International Airport.
To keep the trains running, the yard could not be shut down, except for a very short window, and the space was extremely limited.
Construction took place in seven 48-hour weekends and one 28-day period of constant work in order to avoid prolonged inconvenience to commuters.
Despite the added challenge of working in an active train yard, the project team had no reportable incidents and a zero lost time rate.