Author: svalente

Special thanks to HCSS for featuring our Award-Winning I-495 Haverhill Design Build Project.

From the article:

“SPS New England successfully navigated these challenges to deliver a much-needed infrastructure upgrade. Their expertise in bridge building has been a partnership with HCSS since 2002, when tighter profit margins required the company to shift from a revenue-based company that relied on accounting for relaying costs after-the-fact, to a company that could instantly measure daily costs using HeavyJob in 2005. Operating with a budget created directly from the estimate created in HeavyBid, SPS New England’s foremen can use their iPads in the field to track the time their crew spends on a specific phase of work against the budget set by the estimators.

With the seamless integration of HeavyBid to HeavyJob, the budgeted production rate from HeavyBid, along with logged man-hours, quantity tracking, and material tracking can inform the field if they are ahead or behind.

According to SPS – a resource and cost-loaded critical path method (CPM) schedule was used for this project. Implementing a CPM schedule in conjunction with the project controls of HeavyJob, HCSS provided the project management team with up-to-date job cost information, projected spending, and cost projections. This led to an overall best-practice management of the project’s budget. Change orders accounted for $4,043,729.81 (4.24 percent) of the project value; 90 percent of this amount was attributed to an owner-directed safety improvement for designing and constructing a slip ramp on the I-495 mainline.”

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Stage 1 progress by the SPS-Walsh Joint Venture team continues with Mainline bridge pier construction, abutment foundation pile driving, drilled micropile installation and MSE wall construction all in preparation for upcoming structural steel erection. The project’s second access trestle is beginning to be built across the Charles River. Work at the MBTA bridge has been ongoing to extend the bridge piers for upcoming superstructure replacement. Ramp A/B Bridge raised median demolition has commenced for upcoming traffic phase flip.

The Railroad-SPS New England JV recently completed a 13-day surge on the Orange Line as part of the MBTA’s ongoing Track Improvement Program, removing 6 speed restrictions between Jackson Square Station and the Mass Ave Tunnel Portal. Our work included various concrete repairs to 46 direct fixation track panels, core drilling and replacement of more than 130 track shoulder posts, over 11,000 feet of rail replacement including 64 thermite welds, replacement of 250 timber ties, and nearly 2000 feet of tamping. The JV also replaced various special track components at the Ruggles Crossovers, removing a longstanding movement restriction for Orange Line trains traveling through the switches. Our work was completed on-time with the help of SPS’s Bridge Deck & Joint Repair crews joining the track repair team.

Subcontractors: Fischbach & Moore, WL French, Tiabbi Equipment, CJ Shaughnessy Crane, Vanasse & Associates, Liro-Hill Group

Railroad-SPS New England worked 24 hours a day from September 6^th to September 29^th on a shutdown of the MBTA Red Line between JFK/UMass Station and Braintree Station with Railroad-SPS crews working between Tenean Beach and Wollaston Station. Railroad-SPS crews replaced over 7000 ties, just under 13000 feet of Rail, destressed over 34500 feet of rail, replaced the Linden Street Truck Pad, performed various switch work, as well has dressed the track with just under 3000 Tons of Ballast. The work performed by Railroad-SPS helped to lift (9) total speed restrictions and allow trains to travel at speeds up to 50 mph for the first time since the track was built.

Over the past 6 months, SPS performed a significant amount of work to replace the Dorchester Avenue Bridge over the MBTA Red Line and Old Colony Commuter Rail Tracks. As of September 23, 2024, the bridge has been reopened to pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

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