Tenacity Tested By Forgotten Train Station
Sewell, N.J. — Just across the river from Ellis Island, immigrants going west used to board trains at the Erie-Lackawanna Rail Station. Many decades later, workers remediated the site and built an interactive museum, the Liberty Science Center, above the rail yard and the remains of a locomotive maintenance shop.
More recently, the museum hired solar contractor Ray Angelini Inc. (No. 43) to install a 574-kW solar system above the parking lot. Despite old schematics inferring ground conditions, no one could know the real complexity of the project until holes were dug for 47 canopy foundations.
“We design, build and maintain challenging commercial installations,” says Joe Joyce, senior vice president for sales and marketing. “This one wasn’t that big, but it was fraught with all kinds of challenges.”
Under the asphalt, the remains of the maintenance shop made for tough conditions. Test pits showed the company’s original foundation design (caissons) wouldn’t work, because of obstructions and environmental conditions. The engineering team rushed a redesign and used driven pipe piles with pile caps.
As if that weren’t enough, Superstorm Sandy hit just as the company began construction. Power was lost to Liberty State Park, the location of the museum, and the project site was shut down and used by authorities for the recovery effort.
The site was returned to RAI two weeks later, when the company increased manpower to speed installation, recovering lost time. Despite the many challenges, RAI completed the project on time and within budget.
“We have some very good people – not just the construction guys, we also have some top-flight engineers,” Joyce says. “Coordination and project management was a key part to bringing that project to fruition. That could have easily gotten out of hand.” SPW
Roberto Cumbia says
Exxon-Mobil’s worst nightmare.