AECOM provided final design services for a 2.4 mile elevated guideway extension of the Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) Heavy Rail System connecting the existing Earlington Heights Station to a new station at the Miami Intermodal Center adjacent to Miami Airport. AECOM was the prime consultant performing all of the project management functions as well as the structural engineering and track-work design for the guideway. This $325 million extension had numerous challenges involving long-span segmental concrete box girder design over the Miami River, an active Tri-Rail freight corridor and a major expressway (SR112). AECOM saved MDT and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) more than $60 million by re-configuring the station location so that direct connections were achieved to the Miami Intermodal Center and by adjusting the alignment over SR112 thus avoiding a significant amount of right-of-way acquisition.
Included in the project is a four-level station integrated with a bus terminal plaza and a pedestrian overpass, which connects the station to the rental car facility and automated people mover station that serves the airport. The proposed station design won a prestigious American Institute of Architects Award in 2006 out of more than 120 submissions. The project also won an Outstanding Engineering Award from the Florida Society of Civil Engineers and another meritorious award from the Citizens for Independent Transit Trust.
The contract was all-inclusive providing a complete finished line section including civil, structural, and track-work design; systems engineering (traction power, train control and communications), as well as architectural, landscaping, and mechanical and electrical engineering services. AECOM performed all of the geotechnical investigations, aerial photogrammetry, and mapping services, right-of-way needs determination, scheduling, and cost estimating. AECOM has also managed all of the interfaces with third parties including FDOT, the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority, Tri-Rail, Florida Power and Light, and all other utility companies for service connections and relocations.