J-Track, LLC 2 3

J-Track, LLC

J-Track LLC is the commuter’s equivalent of a masked superhero – frequently unseen, but instrumental in saving the day. As a company that specializes in end-to- end track and transit system construction services, J-Track is frequently the unsung hero in circumstances where flooding and water leaks threaten to grind to a halt the daily subway commute in metropolitan cities like New York and Washington, D.C. 4

Written by Gina Stephens

his was the case recently when J-Track was hired to ensure that the Red Line of the Washington Metro rail Trapid transit system would be better able to cope with torrential rains and flooding, as well as frequent water seepage. Flooding has been a perennial problem for the Red Line – last summer, flash floods caused commuter chaos, resulting in passengers having to wade through shin-high water, and one of the Red Line stations, Cleveland Park, was being bypassed because the water inundation was so severe that water was cas- cading down the escalators, causing them to short out. Storms are a major cause of the Washington Metro flooding, but the geographic placement of some of the Red Line stations, placed at the bottom of a hill, create a structural weakness when it comes to water seepage.

To address this issue in a more permanent fashion, Washing- ton Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) hired J-Track to commence work in July 2017 on a pilot project that would use one of the company’s proprietary techniques, employ- ing “curtain grouting” to add a waterproof membrane to the exterior of the Red Line’s tunnel walls using a polymer-based material that J-Track created.

“Since this tunnel segment was constructed, Metro has fought a battle against Mother Nature, and Mother Nature has always had the upper hand. Just as we have addressed the root causes of track infrastructure problems and railcar reliability issues, I want to address the water infiltration problem head on and find a sustainable solution. Our Red Line riders deserve nothing chocolate syrup cascades down an ice cream sundae). less,” said Washington Metro General Manager and CEO Paul J. Two holes are drilled every 10 feet for the injections. The Wiedefeld in a WMATA news release about the project. holes are then sealed at the conclusion of the process. The injected material forms a rubberlike impenetrable WMATA hired J-Track based on its extensive work using the membrane, or ‘curtain’ between the exterior of the same solution to seal in-ground water inflows for mining tunnel wall and the surrounding ground medium,” industry tunnels, as well as its work on the South Ferry/White- notes a WMATA news release. hall Street subway station in New York City after Hurricane Sandy. The company’s areas of expertise span track, concrete, J-Track was hired by WMATA to employ this technique excavation, signal and power work, and it also performs design in two different environments within the Red Line, one work, general contracting, and construction management, in a linear-bored tunnel segment and another in an according to its website. Curtain grouting in particular is a interlocking tunnel area where the space for the tunnel process that mitigates water leaks and seepage by adding a was created by blasting rock to create a cavern within rubber-like membrane to the outside of a concrete tunnel wall. which to construct the subway tunnel. The work on the tunnels is being done as a pilot in these two loca- “To [install the curtain grouting], holes are drilled in the ceiling tions to assess whether this technique could serve as of the existing tunnel until the exterior of the tunnel is reached. a solution for the broader system of tunnels. WMATA From there, a proprietary polymer-based emulsion (PBE) grout plans to evaluate the results of the pilot in the autumn of is injected into the hole at high pressure, which begins cas- 2017 during the rainy season, when hydrostatic pressure cading down the curved exterior of the tunnel (like the way builds and water seepage and flooding is more likely. 5

GARDEN STATE ENGINEERING, SURVEYING AND PLANNING OF NY

One Blue Hill Plaza, Suite 1624, Pearl River, NY 10965 T: (212) 840-6331 • F: (212) 319-4010 E: [email protected]

Drilled Piles

“J-Track performs Driven Piles railroad track work, civil construction, and Working with J-Track to deliver a quality project architectural work for a Info/Pricing Call Mike Pocius - 845.627.8655 number of government www.acfoundations.com agencies engaged in [email protected] public transportation.” 6

The company’s success in winning innovative contracts such as the WMATA pilot project is based on its wide- ranging experience in transit and construction work. Founded by a team with over 70 years of combined “For six years in a row, J-Track experience, J-Track performs railroad track work, civil has been the recipient construction, and architectural work for a number of government agencies engaged in public transporta- of the prestigious Gold tion. J-Track has bid on and won a variety of projects Award from the National in the New York region, including new track construc- Railroad Construction and tion and new building construction as well as building Maintenance Association, Inc.” modifications, interior fit outs, and utility installations. The company’s staff includes professional engineers, project managers, superintendents, foremen, quality control managers and safety managers. Based out of College Point, NY, J-Track’s focus has historically been on projects in the New York region, though, as the WMATA project demonstrates, the firm has begun exploring other areas of the country for opportunities. 7

J-Track also leverages its deep relationships with its partners to station in October 2012. It destroyed all of the electrical and ensure the best outcomes in all of its projects. On a number mechanical systems in the station, which was only two years of occasions, J-Track has worked with partners like Garden old at the time. J-Track was chosen to play a lead role in the State Engineering, Surveying and Planning, Inc. (GSESP), a pri- reconstruction of the station. vately owned firm of Engineers, Land Surveyors, Designers and CAD Technicians to complete projects in the New York Five years after Sandy’s destruction, the $369 million project to State region. Established in 1990 as a small surveying company, reconstruct the station was complete, opening on time and on GSESP employs over 75 people in all aspects of engineering budget, and included the removal of damaged equipment and and surveying. The firm provides professional services in the reinforced walls. engineering, surveying and construction fields to a diversified clientele, including governmental and transportation agencies, “In the hours and days after [Hurricane Sandy] hit, New Yorkers industrial, energy and transmission, commercial, and residen- were reminded just how vulnerable we are to Mother Nature tial clients. GSESP assisted J-Track in a large-scale project for the and how dependent the region is on the MTA,” said MTA Metropolitan Transit Authority of New York (MTA). In 2011, MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota in an MTA news release. “That’s why hired J-Track to make much-needed repairs and improvements our efforts to harden the system to guard against these vulner- to Brooklyn’s Culver Line including the rebuilding of the Viaduct abilities is so critical – not only for the transit network infrastruc- structure and the renewal of its tracks, signals and switches. The ture itself, but for the regional economy and more than eight work also encompassed a rehabilitation of the Smith-9th station million customers who rely on us each today.” and a restoration of platforms, canopies and the historic arch at the 4th Avenue-9th Street station. The MTA news release further goes on to note that the reconstruction featured newly added hardening measures to protect This $275.5 million engineering and construction project was the new station include retractable flood doors at station required to rehabilitate the steel and concrete viaduct that was entrances and 6,000-pound steel marine flood doors through- first opened in 1933 as part of the Independent Subway System out the station, as well as hardening of other entry points for (IND), a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now water including vents, manholes, hatches, conduits, and air ducts. part of the New York City Subway. The project area stretches from the tunnel portal south of the Carroll Street station to the What is next for J-Track? To be sure, the firm will continue to portal south of Fourth Avenue. emphasize its gold standard for safety. For six years in a row, J-Track has been the recipient of the prestigious Gold Award from the Another of J-Track’s milestone projects was its work on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association, Inc. construction of the new South Ferry subway station. Hit by (NRC) for the distinguished performance of its employees and Hurricane Sandy, the deadliest and most destructive hurri- management in the creation of a safe work environment. J-Track cane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, and the second- will also continue to focus on bidding and winning further jobs costliest hurricane in United States history, the station was in the Tri-State areas of New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, destroyed by 15 million gallons of salt water and sewage that as well as exploring opportunities in other areas of the country, flooded 80 feet high from the tracks to the mezzanine of the ever expanding its enviable portfolio of projects.

T: 914.419.2764 F: 914.834.8367 517 CENTER AVENUE MAMARONECK, NY 10543 [email protected] / [email protected] J-Track, LLC

14-45 117th Street, College Point, NY 11356 | P: 718-554-2760 www.jtrackny.com

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ATLANTIC COAST FOUNDATIONS CYCLOPS IRONWORKS GARDEN STATE www.acfoundations.com [email protected] [email protected]

As featured in September 2017