TGB Group has begun the first phase of construction for the Wolf Basin Logistics transloading facility project in Big Spring, TX. We’re scheduled to finish this phase in February 2019, with three other phases to follow. Alor will hire approximately 50 local residents to work at the facility after all phases are complete. This is a great employment opportunity for folks in and around Big Spring.
The first phase consists of constructing two railroad tracks that will be used for the rail-to-truck transloading of barite and brine for local oilfield needs. Wolf Basin Logistics is helping the Big Spring Railroad by replacing the mainline switch and upgrading the curves that continue onto their (Alor’s) property to ensure safety and longevity.
Phase I focuses on railroad track construction to receive barite and brine for oil fields
Brine
Brine is the term for dissolved salt/salt mixtures and is used in oil drilling. Preferred over water in drilling applications, brines are high-density but don’t contain particles that could cause damage in a drilling operation. Brine classes include bromides, formates and calcium and sodium chloride brines.
Drone Footage
TGB Group’s Business Development Manager, Jake Cooper, has been busy taking drone footage of pre-construction areas for the Wolf Basin Logistics transloading facility project. The goal is to provide a visual comparison when phase I is complete. Additional drone footage will be available following the completion of future phases.
This video footage starts from the Big Spring Railroad and shows Wolf Basin Logistics’s property before any construction was started. You can see the rail curve that leads to the switch that is going to be replaced.
To learn more about our work on the Wolf Basin Logistics transloading facility project, please contact:
TGB Group will coordinate efforts with the plant and Union Pacific Railroad
TGB Group is working with the owners of a Pasadena chemical plant to design and construct a drainage solution for their property. Actually located just outside Pasadena, this project requires coordination with both the Union Pacific Railroad, which serves the chemical plant with railcars, and the chemical plant itself. Another critical requirement for the project is that it be finished by early October 2018, which means both the design and construction will have to be completed inside a three-month span.
To remedy the Pasadena chemical plant’s drainage issues, TGB Group designed an underground pipe solution that would travel beneath and on both sides of two Union Pacific railroad tracks. The pipe is a 24-inch smooth steel pipe that will extend 75-feet. This will allow the pipe to meet or exceed design specifications and requirements pertaining to drainage output and the weight of the two railroads and any trains that pass over it. The drainage pipe will discharge rain and process water into a tributary located east of the rail track, ensuring that drainage will not be inhibited.
Steps required to gain project approval
Tasks TGB Group must undertake in order to gain approval for this Pasadena chemical plant project include:
Field survey and reports
Comprehensive drainage study
Creation of the drainage design
Submission of documents to the Union Pacific Railroad
At this time, we have finished with the design and now are waiting for Union Pacific to give the go-ahead to start construction and related work.
To learn more about our involvement in this Pasadena chemical plant project, please contact:
TGB Group provided engineering design and construction management for the project
TGB Group is in the news again – this time in Big Spring, Texas, where the company is providing design and construction management services for a major rail industrial park expansion.
The project, launched by the Big Spring Economic Development Corporation (BSEDC), is big news in this city of approximately 27,000. A July 9, 2018 article on NewsWest9.com based in Midland, Texas, pointed out that the “[railroad] track is the road to expansion for the City of Big Spring.”
The McMahon-Wrinkle Air and Industrial Park expansion will involve laying an additional 8,000 feet of track and extending the main line track to allow access to properties near the park.
In a video and accompanying news article, BSEDC Executive Director Terry Wegman said, “This is a continuation of almost six miles of track that we’ve done over the last several years to accommodate existing business and help attract new business to the airport.”
Services TGB has been responsible for during the expansion at the former WWII airfield include topographic survey and construction staking; complete engineering design; preparation of necessary forms to obtain FAA, air park and railroad approvals; and construction administration. You can read more about this project in an article we wrote in October of last year.
TGB President Mike Murphy, who is overseeing his company’s work on the project, told NewsWest9, “The idea is to bring more customers to Big Spring and make them feel comfortable that we have everybody in the room they need to build their project.”
This is just one of many TGB projects focused on enhancing the economic climate in cities throughout Texas and in nearby states.
The Mid-Year Event in Galveston Was a Huge Success
Representatives from TGB Group attended the Texas Economic Development Council conference last week at the Moody Gardens Hotel Conference Center in Galveston, Texas.
Before the conference started on Wednesday, June 13, TGB sponsored the annual golf tournament at the Moody Gardens Golf Club. We had a great time with five groups of golfers attending.
Sunset cruise and bingo trip aboard the Moody Gardens paddle boat.
In addition to sponsoring the golf tournament, we also supported the TEDC PAC (Political Action Committee) while networking with other TEDC members on the Moody Gardens paddle boat sunset cruise and bingo trip. There were about 100 members on the cruise, and everyone enjoyed the awesome experience, as is the norm at any event connected to a Texas Economic Development Council conference.
TEDC PAC efforts
The Political Action Committee serves as the political arm of the council, the professional association for economic developers within the state of Texas. Created in 1997, the TEDC PAC supports the interests of 850-plus economic developers doing work in Texas. A subcommittee of the TEDC Legislative Committee with representation from across Texas governs TEDC PAC activities.
The bipartisan committee collects and distributes funds to Texas political candidates and those already in office who wish to build and sustain a robust, competitive environment for economic development activities throughout the state. Contributions are made through collaborative decision-making, with plenty of opportunity for TEDC leadership and members to offer their input. TEDC PAC members can participate in fundraisers and help relay contributions to local representatives.
We are currently working on the construction of the transload yard with Big Spring Economic Development Corporation. Railworks Track Systems and DIFFCO, LLC were the selected rail and civil contractors for the project for which TGB Group is providing construction management services. So far, we have completed the ditching and surfacing and are beginning to fill the ditches with riprap. TGB team member Logan Ortiz P.E. is performing construction observation duties for the project. He is on-site at the industrial park every week, ensuring that the contractors build everything according to client-approved engineering documents.
Riprap
Riprap is essentially chunks of rock approximately one to two feet in diameter that are used to prevent erosion. Rocks typically used as riprap include granite, limestone and sometimes concrete. Riprap is particularly important to fill ditches near railroad yards to prevent water from eventually eroding the dirt beneath the track. If erosion is allowed to happen, a void will develop within the dirt under the track. As trains pass over this void, the railroad track will bend and “pump” into the dirt. The only way to fix this void is to have a railroad contractor come and fill in the void, which is an expensive and time-consuming process.
Drone Footage
Jake Cooper, TGB’s business development manager, took some drone footage of the construction in the transload yard. The first video is footage for the entire project from the south end, to the north end.
This second video is closer footage from about the middle, to the north end.
To learn more about our work with the Big Spring McMahon Industrial Park Transload Yard, please contact:
TGB Group was hired by W&P Development Corporation of Texas to provide civil design services for a Houston industrial park development served by the Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway. Our tasks included design for approximately 12,000 feet of railroad track, remote power turnouts adjacent to a Class I railroad main line, and more than 100,000 feet of additional track inside the industrial park.
Rail design
The rail portion of the project included nearly 75 custom Vossloh turnouts with radar and rail car identification technology to provide exact, positive location information of more than 4,000 cars that eventually will be held in the park. This is a first-of-its-kind yard in the United States and will make locating customers’ cars when released a much more efficient process.
Special consideration was taken for design and operational integrity where the industrial rail met the proposed Class I railroad. TGB Group analyzed the options of wood, steel and concrete ties to determine which would be the most economical while keeping in mind long-term maintenance for the client.
In addition to the rail, there was an 800-plus-acre site design that called for a drainage plan with more than six miles of ditches, one and a half miles of access roads, more than 150,000 cubic yards of dirt work, utility design and mitigation, as well as three road crossings.
Pipelines
As many in the industry know, throughout the Houston area there are buried pipelines that must be considered in any project that includes digging. In our project, there were two water wells that required capping, a 24-inch water line that had to be encased, and three petroleum company pipelines to address. One of these was a 24-inch crude line that was deep enough to not require encasing. The other two were much shallower. TGB Group worked with the client and the pipeline owners to arrange for the lines to be encased so that railroad tracks could safely be installed over them.
Other project elements TGB Group managed included:
Topographic and ALTA surveys
Environmental site assessments
Geotechnical investigation
Sub-surface utility investigation
Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan
Additionally, we worked with the Army Corps of Engineers on a Wetlands Jurisdictional Determination.
Approvals and project launch
The project was designed according to the Class I railroad’s industrial design standards and the American Railway Engineering Maintenance of Way Association guidelines. After handing over the initial design, TGB Group worked closely with the client and representatives from the short line railroad and the Class I railroad during the review process to receive approval.
The site plan was submitted to the Class I railroad for review and approval in the spring of 2017. The design was completed in summer of 2017. The developer required a fast-track design schedule for the project, and all timelines were met or exceeded, allowing construction to begin at the specified time.
If you’d like to know more about TGB Group’s involvement in this project, please contact:
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