Train underpass construction project

Project Blog: Check here for updates that were posted on the construction progress, as well as photos and videos from the site on campus.

After months of work, the Winona Trail Bike and Pedestrian Underpass at Goshen College is now completed and ready for use. It was dedicated with a ribbon cutting ceremony and tour on Nov. 9, 2012.

• View a photo album from the construction process
• Read the full story

Background:

The underpass allows persons on foot or on bike to cross campus even when a train is passing through (or stopped). Steps go down from the walkway between the Good Library and Umble Center to a tunnel and then up on the other side to the Kratz-Miller Residence Halls and Connector, with a “runnel” for bikes to use and a chair lift for disabled persons that will be activated if a train is present.

Though the project began in April 2012 with the rerouting of utilities and preparing the approaches from both directions, the City of Goshen and Goshen College have been preparing for this day for more than five years since the project was first approved and funded. On July 4, 2012, the passageway under the railroad was completed in a 24-hour period while the trains were not operational. Since then, stairways have been constructed, wheel chair lifts installed, the bike path rerouted and the site restored.

This timelapse (produced by Goshen College students through FiveCore Media) shows all the preparation work that happened between April and July 3, 2012, and then the 24-hour period on July 4, 2012, when the the passageway under the railroad was completed while trains were not operational (and the tracks were cut and removed).

After July 4, a great deal of work remained. The construction of the stairways, installation of the wheel chair lifts, rerouting of the bicycle path and restoration of the site followed. The project was completed in early November 2012.

Funding
The $1.8-million project is being financed by a grant to the City of Goshen through the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program, and the college is funding the architectural, engineering and planning costs. As much as campus members will benefit from the improvement, it will also serve wider community members who travel through campus on the Winona Bike Trail.

Principle Contractors

DLZ Indiana LLC, Fort Wayne – Design Engineering and Onsite Field Inspection and Supervision
Northern Indiana Construction, Mishawaka – General Contractor
Niblock, Bristol – Excavation
Michiana Contracting, Inc., Plymouth – Utilities
Slussers, Inc., Logansport – Site Restoration
Michiana Lift Equipment, Inc., Mishawaka – Inclined Lift

Funding
The $1.8-million project is being financed by a grant to the City of Goshen through the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program, and the college is funding the architectural, engineering and planning costs. As much as campus members will benefit from the improvement, it will also serve wider community members who travel through campus on the Winona Bike Trail.