PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
California High
Speed Rail System:
Hanford Viaduct
Forefront Deep Foundations
innovates to meet a tight schedule
By Kim Biggar
The high-speed passenger rail system now being built in
California will be America’s first. After the first phase of
construction, the system will connect San Francisco to
Los Angeles, a stretch that trains will cover in less than three hours.
A second phase of construction will extend the system north to
Sacramento and south to San Diego, for a total of about 800 miles.
Trains on the system will travel at times more than 200 miles an
hour. This speed will put heavy demands on the infrastructure, so
engineering standards are higher and more stringent than for typical
transportation structures.
The enormous scale of the overall project means that several
companies and joint ventures are working simultaneously on
design-build contracts.
Working with the Dragados USA and Flatiron West joint
venture (DFJV), which is responsible for Contract CP 2-3 of the
project, Newport Beach-based Forefront Deep Foundations is
installing piles for one of the largest bridges in the system, the
Hanford Viaduct, located between the planned Fresno and Kings/
Tulare stations.
In addition to its current work on the viaduct, Forefront has
been involved at eight sites on the CP 2-3 project since mid-2018.
The company has installed indicator piles and performed load testing
for future bridges, and installed piling for roadway and train
bridges, for shoring and for DFJV’s casting yard, where girders for
the future bridges will be cast.
Project overview
The area where Forefront is working is a previous farm field with
dense, sandy soil. Because of the location, the project requirements
include having a biologist on site to monitor the work area for the
presence of animals and move any animals that are in danger.
Further, a paleontologist and a Native observer are available in
case the work uncovers artifacts or fossils.
Photos courtesy of Forefront Deep Foundations
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