Union Pacific Global III Intermodal Facility, Rochelle, Ill.

The $187 million Union Pacific Global III Intermodal Facility is reportedly the largest of its kind in the Midwest and one of the largest in the country. More than 25 trains and 3,000 containers pass through the terminal each day.

The facility serves as an interchange hub for rail shipments moving through the Chicago metropolitan area, the third largest intermodal port in the world after Hong Kong and Singapore. Containers are transferred from rail to truck and vice versa.

The site was developed in two phases. Phase one included a switching yard to expedite the resegmenting of trains and blocking of cars, and phase two included the intermodal terminal with 720,000-lift capacity, 10-lane gate entrance and 7,200-unit container yard.

The most important feature is the switching area. It is parallel to the receiving and departing tracks, which extend along the main line to the West Coast.

Numerous track types are in the center. They include 13 switchyard tracks (for building trains), six support tracks, four loading tracks (for swapping containers between trains and trucks), two lead tracks off the UP mainlines and a track for turning locomotives.
The lead tracks are long enough to allow trains to leave the mainline at a 40-mph clip.

Other elements of the facility include office building, maintenance repair facility, locomotive servicing and security.

The consolidation between the operational functions of Global III and Union Pacific's other Chicago-area intermodal yards will allow for faster transit times. UP handles more than 2.3 million containers a year, and the company expects demand to increase about 4 percent a year in the near term.

Making Good Ground

A top challenge was to construct a site under difficult soil conditions and a facility within typical parameters of Ogle County storm water management ordinances.

Drain tiles were installed to dewater the ground. Although this would be sufficient for agricultural uses, it was not ideal for construction.

To assist further in dewatering, a trench was cut at the north edge of the site pond, and storm-drain laterals were inserted into the pond. Aggregate chips that were used to backfill the pipe and serve as drainage conduit for ground water and assist in dropping the onsite water table.

The schedule did not allow for installation of a complete drainage system prior to the start of earth moving. Lime modification was done to dry the silt, clay and pockets of sand that make up the soil. The soil retained moisture of about 35 percent to 50 percent, levels above the optimum.

To meet UP's phase-one schedule, the earthwork for that phase had to be completed between Dec. 1, 2001, and June 1, 2002. About 750,000 cu. yds. of material was to be moved.

The top 16 in. of earthwork was modified by lime and provided enough strength to place additional fills on top. The top 32 in. of lime material was stabilized and provided a subgrade for the rail yard.

The total volume of earthwork moved at the site was 2.9 million cu. yds., and 2.5 million sq. yds. of lime was placed.

The overall paving included 716,000 sq. yds. of asphalt and 221,000 sq. yds. of concrete. If the volume of paving were put in a 5-ft.-wide, 4-in.-thick sidewalk, the structure would run 1,000 mi. long.

Batch plants were set up onsite to meet the required schedule for asphalt and concrete paving. The asphalt plant ran at 400 tons per hour, and an average daily shift installed 4,000 tons of material.

The concrete plant produced 5,500 cu. yds. of material each day. A total of 78,966 cu. yds. of material needed to be placed in the fall of 2002 to meet the schedule. On Oct. 15, 2002, a crew was able to place 6,000 cu. yds. of concrete, an unofficial record for a private project in Illinois.

County, Water Issues

Another issue was to design and construct the facility within the parameters set by Ogle County.

The site is bounded by the Kyte River on the east, south and west sides and the existing Union Pacific Railroad on the north. A large portion of the property along the Kyte is in a floodway.

Ordinances do not allow the placement of fill in the floodway without compensation at a 1.5 to 1 ratio, making it nearly impossible to build in the floodway. The facility was designed so it does not infringe on the floodway, except in two areas.

Local ordinances also required mitigation for detention basins placed in the floodplain. Additional property was purchased that was above the 100-year flood elevation to provide detention mitigation. UP purchased about 1,200 acres to provide mitigation for the 750-acre facility.

An engineered water collection system and retention/detention basins control the amount of storm water discharged from the site. The basins cover 62 acres.

Tracking Ahead

Slightly more than 38 mi. of track go into the facility, and the rail system itself was used to aid in constructing the center.

Trains brought in the ties, 1,440-ft.-long rails and foundation stone. Rail was threaded off cars, a rack with rollers actuated by air conveyed the rails to where they were to be installed atop ties. The 200,000-plus wood ties were set by hand.

About 200,000 tons of granite were selected to give the track a solid foundation because the stone is the hardest.

A train rolled onto newly laid track, and rock released from a door buried the track. A tamping machine clamped onto the rails and lifted it out of the stone. Cameras ensured the proper alignment of the track. Tamping tools compacted the stone and released the track.

The jury said, "The enormity of the site is tremendous. It's on the scale of creating a new airport. The team set all kinds of concrete pour records on this one."

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