Four transportation projects to which Parsons Brinckerhoff made significant contributions — the MARC Wedge Yard Storage Yard at Union Station in Washington, D.C; the I-95 Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge foundation and substructure repairs in Maryland; the Purple Line light rail transit study in Maryland; and the Baltimore Light Rail — Union Avenue & Clipper Mill Road grade crossing replacements — received awards at the annual conference of the Maryland Quality Initiative (MdQI).
“The Maryland Quality Initiative has played a key role in fostering quality improvements with all transportation efforts within the state,” said Jerry Jannetti, vice president and Maryland area manager for Parsons Brinckerhoff. “We are extremely honored to be recognized by the organization for our work on these essential projects.”
The MdQI Modal Award (Over $5 Million) Project of the Year Award went to the MARC Wedge Yard Storage Yard at Union Station in Washington, D.C., With existing storage yards at Union Station nearing capacity, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) needed a new facility to store MARC trains during layovers. The new $38.5 million Wedge Storage Yard provides additional daytime storage space for trains and includes inspection pits to enable maintenance work to be done on the trains while they are idle. Parsons Brinckerhoff provided engineering design for the project with Gannett Fleming and Whitman Requardt & Associates.
The MdQI Gold Partnering Award was received by the I-95 Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge foundation and substructure repairs project. Parsons Brinckerhoff provided engineering design for the project, which involved concrete repair and restoration of the spread footing foundations and pier columns, with strengthening of the pier columns using carbon fiber wrap and installation of deep cofferdams. The Tydings Bridge was also a finalist in the MdQI Modal Award (Over $5 Million) category.
The Purple Line light rail transit study received the MdQI Planning Award. The Purple Line is a proposed 16-mile light rail line extending from New Carrollton in Prince George's County to Bethesda in Montgomery County. A joint venture of AECOM, RK&K and Parsons Brinckerhoff is providing planning and program management for the Purple Line.
The Baltimore Light Rail — Union Avenue and Clipper Mill Road grade crossing replacements project was a finalist for the MdQI Modal Award — Project Under $5 Million. After 20 years of service, the Union Avenue and Clipper Road Light Rail grade crossings in the Woodberry area of Baltimore had reached their effective service life and exhibited structural failure. Parsons Brinckerhoff, as design/construction manager, prepared plans and specifications for the simultaneous replacement of these two crossings.
MdQI is a cooperative effort by Maryland’s transportation industry dedicated to the continuous quality improvement in the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of Maryland’s transportation system. Its annual Awards of Excellence recognizes transportation projects that exemplify the goals of the organization.
