Thursday, June 6, 2019

Tunnel Visit: Existing Train Tunnels along Pacific Coast in Oregon, USA

Coos Bay Rail Line

Interested geotechnical engineering students from Oregon State University (OSU) had the chance to visit two existing single track train tunnels along the Pacific Coast of Oregon just south of Florence, OR, USA earlier this year on February 1st, 2019.


The Coos Bay Rail Line – Tunnel Structural Rehabilitation is designed to bring the existing nine tunnels into a good operating condition. The tunnels were built during the early 20th century and began operation in 1916. It was shut down between 2007 and 2011 due to safety concerns related to deferred maintenance.
The new rehabilitation work started in May 2018 and is scheduled to be completed in April 2020. Most of the original – over 100 year old – cedar timber structure is still in place. The project includes structural repairs, fire safety, and drainage systems. This project is a significant step in preserving and maintaining the old rail line along the Pacific Coast to continue to connect local shippers to the national rail network.
The estimated overall project cost as of 2016 was $19.55 million dollars.

On-site, the project manager, Matt Bartlett, from McMillen Jacobs Associates, Portland, OR, walked us through tunnel 15 and 16 and showed us the work they’ve already done and work that still needs to be completed.

The tunnels were dark and wet – good rubber boots would have been great – because of deferred maintenance, the water found a new way along the train tracks and resembled a small stream in some places. And as a consequence of the water, some of the material under the tracks got washed out.
We enjoyed walking through the darkness in over 100 years old train tunnels.

I’d like to thank GIGSO (Geo-Institute Graduate Student Organization) of OSU for their financial support. The group would like to thank McMillen Jacobs Associates from Portland, OR, and especially Matt Bartlett, who guided us through the tunnels.

Stephie


From left to right.: Stephanie Lange, Aleyna Donaldson,
Ehsan Yazdani, Lina Xu, Victoria Dutille, Jiayao Wang, Tovey Brown.