Aggregate Distribution Yard – South Carolina

Mt. Holly, South Carolina

To meet the demand for high-quality aggregate products in this coastal region, Vulcan Materials chose this greenfield site just north of Charleston, SC along CSXT’s service corridor for their new regional distribution yard. CivilSmith and Creative Rail Solutions teamed up to assist HGB and their client Vulcan Materials with all phases of design and construction for this new aggregate unit train unloading operation. Preliminary planning and design included several operational considerations for bi-directional service from the north or south while allowing the unit train to be pulled into the site without stopping in order to quickly clear this busy rail corridor. Constraints at each end of the project required some creative designs to include the use of a double crossover configuration as well as incorporating an existing industrial neighbor’s switch into the new staging siding.

CivilSmith and Creative Rail Solutions coordinated with Vulcan Materials, HGB, and CSX throughout the duration of the project to develop rail designs that met the rail operational and capacity needs for the new unit train aggregate unloading operation. Track construction specifications and quantities were provided to Vulcan for their use in their bidding process. Periodic construction observation site visits were provided by Creative Rail Solutions to assist Vulcan with track material and installation quality control. The project included detailed coordination and design efforts with CSX in consideration of CSX’s installation of power-assist turnouts with signalization at both ends of staging sidings.

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