TEXRail, Trinity Metro, Downtown Fort Worth to DFW International Airport, TX

IEA Inc. served as the Segment 3 Lead and provided Structural and Traffic Engineering for Segments 3 and 4 of the TEXRail Design-Build Project.

TEXRail is a 27.2-mile commuter rail system operating between downtown Fort Worth and DFW International Airport.

Segment 3 - Design Lead:

IEA coordinated the design of the 20.4-mile corridor located on the Cotton Belt line within the cities of Fort Worth, Haltom City, Watauga, North Richland Hills, Hurst, Colleyville, Southlake and Grapevine (Tower 60 to DFW Junction). There were five proposed stations within segment 3: North Side, Beach Street, Iron Horse, Smithfield, and Grapevine Main Street.

At Big Bear Creek, the 100-year flood was overtopping the existing track elevation. In this section, the track was raised 7-ft. IEA designed the Big Bear Creek Bridge on a permanent realignment (instead of a shoofly) to the North of the existing bridge. IEA coordinated the design of a retaining wall adjacent to the existing track to 100-ft from the proposed switch. This switch from the existing alignment over to the permanent realignment allowed the section to be constructed within a 48-hour track closure window.

Segment 3 - Schematic Refinement:

Approximately 14.6 miles reconstructed the existing Cotton Belt mainline with sections of double track at the stations and a passing siding in West Grapevine. The double track sections or passing sidings included North Side, Smithfield, and Grapevine. Within this section, TEXRail operations involve a mixed-use environment with FWWR freight. The City of Grapevine also runs the Grapevine Vintage Railroad excursion train from Main Street to the Fort Worth stockyards along Cotton Belt.

The original design schematic planned to phase the construction of all bridges within the Cotton Belt section using shoofly construction and temporary bridges. After thorough review of the schematic and coordination with FWWR operations, IEA determined that the proposed track profile could be lowered enough at all but one of the creek crossings to allow the tracks and bridges to be constructed on the existing alignment within the FWWR allowed track closure windows (3-5 days).

Segment 3 - Bridge Design:

IEA designed the Hodge Yard Bridge in Segment 3. The Hodge Yard Bridge is a 1,296-ft-long, 17-span bridge designed to support the commuter rail. The structure consists of modified TxDOT Tx72 girder with single column hammerhead bents.

Segment 4 - Street Modifications and Structural Design:

Segment 4 is 2.6 miles between the DFW junction and the DFWIA Terminal B Rail Station. IEA prepared typical sections, plan and profile drawings, cross sections, and grading plans for the DFW Access Road, Dallas Road, North Airfield Drive, Southbound Mainline Ramp – International Parkway and Crossunder #2. IEA was responsible for the design of seven new structures within DFW Airport, including bridges and walls.

Segment 4 - Maintenance of Traffic (MOT):

IEA prepared typical sections and MOT plans for the DFW Access Road, Dallas Road, North Airfield Drive, Southbound Mainline Ramp – International Parkway, and Crossunder #2. A detour plan for North Airfield Drive was also prepared.

Segment 4 - Traffic and Illumination:

IEA prepared illumination plans for Dallas Road and North Airfield Drive and Signing and Striping Plans for the DFW Access Road, Dallas Road, North Airfield Drive, Southbound Mainline Ramp – International Parkway, and Crossunder #2. Signal pre-emption plans were developed for Crossunder #2 and a traffic impact analysis was performed at the DFW Airport Station.