AirTrain, JFK Light Rail System (Slattery)
Slattery served as the lead member of a consortium that designed and built a $1.2 billion, 8.1 mile light rail system at JFK International Airport.
To meet the project’s aggressive schedule, construction progressed at six locations concurrently. Coordination with other contractors and public agencies was critical to the success of the project.
Construction of the guideway structure was one of the major components of the project. The guideway foundation required 80-foot-long Monotube piles and Tapertube piles. The tops of the piles were capped below ground with footings that typically measured 20 feet by 20 feet by 5 feet. Installation of cast-in-place concrete piers that varied in size up to 45 feet in height and 6 feet in diameter atop the footings completed the guideway’s support system.
The team erected the guideway structure that supports the system’s trackway, which features running rails, safety walkways and traction power, as well as communications ductbanks. The 48,000-foot-long structure consists of more than 5,000 pre-cast, post-tensioned, segmental concrete box sections.
For the final construction phase, Slattery assembled and installed 1,500-foot-long continuous rail strings and placed direct fixation tracks, linear induction motor rails and power rails. Additionally, Slattery designed and installed all equipment for four 27-kilovolt feeders; a main substation which distributes power to seven substations for traction power; and nine substations to operate the passenger terminals.