INNOVATION IN RAIL AND TRANSIT
Danang City, Vietnam
Parsons Brinckerhoff
Central Phoenix/East Valley Light Rail System
As general engineering consultant for the 20-mile light rail system linking
downtown Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa, Ariz., Parsons Brinckerhoff led a diverse
group of seven primary design subconsultants and 56 sub-subconsultants to
deliver the project in just six years. The civil portion of this $1.4 billion project
was divided into five line sections ranging in length from 2. 27 miles to 5 miles,
six park-and-ride lots for 26 stations, the 1,500-foot-long Town Lake Bridge,
and a maintenance and storage facility for 50 light rail vehicles.
In addition to GEC responsibilities, Parsons Brinckerhoff managed and
performed conceptual preliminary engineering, and final design as well as
prepared the draft and final environmental impact statements. It defined the
light rail route, documented alternative alignments, analyzed environmental
impacts, evaluated station locations, developed design standards and criteria,
prepared preliminary operating plans, and refined project cost estimates.
2009 BE INSPIRED AWARDS
The design team was comprised of more than 250 local and national experts
experienced in the use of Bentley products. When the client required the job
to be completed using Autodesk products, however, Parsons Brinckerhoff
proposed using MicroStation but delivering the finished design in DWG
file format. Time and money was saved by using Bentley products from the
beginning of this project as it allowed the staff to hit the ground running.
Applications included InRoads, InRail (now Bentley Rail Track), StormCAD,
and CulvertMaster.
Parsons Brinckerhoff also oversaw the overall facility design, track and
systems design, traffic signal design, vehicle design and procurement, traction
power electrification, and station architectural design. Through an extensive
cooperative effort among Valley Metro, the cities, project team members,
and stakeholders, the light rail system opened to the public on Dec. 27, 2008,
on schedule and within budget. One month into revenue service, weekday
ridership was running 19 percent higher than year-end weekday forecasts.
