Kapur & Associates, a multi-discipline consulting engineering firm, recently helped with the planning and installation of a new 4.3 million pound commuter railroad bridge outside of Chicago. The project is part of the city’s “Building a New Chicago” program that is designed to update critical infrastructure. Kapur & Associates used Autodesk Building Information Modeling (BIM) for infrastructure solutions to create 3D intelligent models for site construction layout and survey control, and to generate compelling visuals to help communicate to 40 government departments how the enormous, pre-assembled truss bridge could be moved and installed. “We believe this project includes the largest pre-assembled truss bridge ever moved into place,” said Dan Kucza, P.L.S., of Kapur & Associates. “With help from Autodesk’s Building Information Modeling solutions, we were able to visually demonstrate how the entire process of moving and hoisting the truss would unfold. We planned and modeled everything right down to the Self Propelled Mobile Transporters (SMPT’s) to simulate the 400 foot long, and 2,350 ton truss being rolled 800 feet into position, which helped secure approval from all of the agencies involved.”
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Autodesk 3ds Max Design software helped communicate to stakeholders how the massive bridge would be transported and set input place. Image courtesy of Kapur & Associates
The massive new rail bridge is part of the “Torrence Avenue Grade Separation Project,” which involved a complete redesign and rebuild at the intersection of Torrence Avenue and 130th Street in Chicago. The goal of the project was to help allow traffic to pass below two new bridges for the Norfolk Southern (NS) Railroad, thus eliminating the current at-grade crossing of these tracks and improve traffic flow to the surrounding areas. The entire project included six new bridges, realignment of the commuter railroad tracks and roads, a new drainage system, retaining walls, lighting, traffic signals, a mixed-use pedestrian path and extensive landscaping. The project is the first major milestone of a $101 million infrastructure project designed to make the city’s urban rail network run more efficiently. To help visually communicate the entire project’s scope to technical and non-technical stakeholders, including clients, 40 government departments and the general public, the Kapur & Associates team used Autodesk BIM for infrastructure software solutions included as part of the Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite.
