Bull Mountain Design-Build

RSA Construction Group was the design-build general contractor for this 36-mile long railroad spur that included construction of 5 bridges. Under a very aggressive schedule for this alternative delivery project, RSA crews moved 9.6 million cubic yards of earthwork in 9 months. The bridges are all 3-span structures utilizing precast concrete girders and cast-in-place footings, piers, abutments and decks. The new rail spur ties into existing BNSF Railway mainline tracks near Broadview, Montana.

The design team was provided a relatively narrow corridor, railroad grade restrictions, railroad curve restrictions, and a large number of county road and private road crossings that had to be maintained and/or improved. The project worked seven days a week around the clock during an unusually cold Montana winter in order to keep the fills live so that they were not exposed to freezing temperatures for extended periods. Three million cubic yards of rock required blasting. One rock cut was 14,000 feet long and up to 70 feet deep. The project scope included massive earthwork, aggregate processing and placement and grading.