Vehicular tunnel engineers win top award

Engineers and planners for the vehicular tunnel that runs under Norfolk Southern railroad tracks on Liberty University’s western border were presented a Grand Award for the project Thursday at the 2015 Engineering Excellence Awards, hosted by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Virginia (ACEC), at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Va.

ACEC Virginia is the largest engineering firm association in the state. The annual awards recognize engineering firms for projects “that demonstrate innovation, complexity, achievement and value to the industry,” according to the ACEC Virginia website.

Liberty’s vehicular tunnel opened last May and was designed by Brierley Associates of East Syracuse, New York. Liberty’s Planning and Construction Department (P&C) worked closely with Brierley to ensure the completion of the project.

The tunneling method used for the project was the first of its kind in North America. It involved pulling two jacked concrete boxes, each standing 26 feet tall and weighing 4.2 million pounds, through the earth with six motors and more than 160 cables creating the four-lane tunnel (two lanes each way). It also marked the first time the Norfolk Southern Railway had allowed concrete boxes that large to be pulled under a live, active, main rail. The project has already garnered interest in the industry, and has been featured by the American Society of Civil Engineers and Tunnel Business Magazine. It was also recognized as one of the best projects of the year by Engineering News-Record MidAtlantic, a magazine and website for construction industry professionals.

Maggie Cossman, a corporate engineer in Liberty’s P&C, represented the university at the ceremony. She was joined by Brierley president and CEO AJ McGinn and Jeremiah Jezerski, a Brierley associate.

McGinn said he was honored that Liberty chose his company for the project.

“This is a tremendous honor for us, and we thank Liberty University for the opportunity,” he said. “It has been a wonderful relationship all throughout design and application.”

Jezerski served as field engineer and project manager for the tunnel and spent six months on campus during the construction process.

“While working at the university, I had a phenomenal time,” he said. “This was a great opportunity for a young engineer like myself, and to be involved with a university like Liberty is excellent.”

Cossman said the original vehicular tunnel plan only called for two lanes.

“Brierley’s innovative design resulted in the four-lane tunnel solution we were looking for, in the budget we had established for the two-lane design. They were exactly the right partner we needed on this project.”

The vehicular tunnel has greatly improved traffic flow onto campus from Wards Road, the busiest retail corridor in the region. It has allowed the university to eliminate an at-grade railway crossing nearby, lessening liability for the railroad and ensuring that cars traveling to or from campus would not be delayed by passing trains.