NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND PASSENGER RAIL AUTHORITY (NNEPRA) LAYOVER FACILITY

  • Project Location: Brunswick, ME
  • Services Provided:
    • Geotechnical consulting
    • Investigated subsurface conditions using a combination of test borings with Standard Penetration Testing (SPT) sampling, groundwater observation wells, and seismic cone penetration tests (SCPTµ) using an AMS PowerProbe© 9500 VTR.
  • Project Summary: 
    • Layover facility is a building structure 16,000 ft2 in footprint with a height of 37 feet to accommodate up to three different train sets.
    • The Cooper E80 train loadings standard was employed for soils engineering.
  • Project Challenges / Innovation: 
    • Geotechnical challenges included deep marine sand in a regressive delta subsurface environment containing shallow groundwater within a sand and gravel aquifer.
    • The use of SCPTµ provided site specific shear wave velocity testing for improved earthquake seismic design, liquefaction analysis, and soil response from dynamic train loads.