MNR Harmon Wheel Truing Facility Wins Multiple ASCE Awards

July 21, 2008

(New York, N.Y.) The Metro-North Railroad (MNR) Harmon Wheel Truing Facility has received two American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) awards – the ASCE Lower Hudson Valley Branch’s 2008 Small Project of the Year Award and the ASCE Metropolitan Section’s 2008 Design-Build Project of the Year Award. In addition, this facility was previously named Project of the Year by the Design-Build Institute of America, New York Tri-State Metro Region.

This facility, located in the MTA MNR Harmon Yard in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., is the first in North America to offer a tandem wheel lathe for truing wheel sets. This feature has increased the truing capacity for MNR by allowing the cutting of four wheels simultaneously instead of the typical two wheels per axle on previous installations. This new process improves the life expectancy of each wheel. In addition, the tandem lathe is safer for MNR’s employees to operate.

Gannett Fleming prepared the design-build construction documents for this state-of-the-art facility. Simmons Machine Tool Corporation provided the tandem wheel truing machine under a separate contract with MNR. Design-build construction for this project was completed during an impressive 14-month period and at a cost of $12.6 million.

Awarded to the joint venture team of Slattery Skanska/ECCO III/Edwards & Kelcey, final design/construction began in August 2006. The facility was accepted by MNR and placed into service on Sept. 27, 2007. This project comprises one aspect of MNR’s extensive $500 million campus reconstruction for its Harmon Yard.

For more information, please contact James R. Laurita at (212) 967-9833, ext. 5229 or via e-mail.