AMTRAK TUNNEL FIRE PROTECTION
New York & New Jersey
Amtrak required a custom fire protection system in their New York City Tunnels. The project included (4) Amtrak tunnels that ran under the East River from Sunnyside Yard to Penn Station; (2) Amtrak North River tunnels between Penn Station and North Bergen; Mechanical equipment structure at the Sunnyside Yard and North Bergen portals, and mechanical equipment rooms in the Amtrak vent shaft structure at 1st Avenue, at 11th Avenue serving the tunnels at Penn Station and in the Amtrak Weehawken vent shaft. The scope of work included the MEP elements in the tunnels and mechanical rooms comprised of fire standpipe, electrically actuated valves, power panels and wiring, low-voltage control wiring, compressed air system, deluge valves, fire alarm control system and monitoring devices and annunciators. The project presented numerous challenges in the design criteria including 26 miles of congested tunnel walls, outdoor weather conditions/related issues, a stringent /fast track schedule and multiple state agency compliance requirements.
As a sub-consultant to Parsons Transportation Group, CSA conducted studies and research of state and national codes and standards, in coordination with NY and NJ fire departments, and examined existing systems throughout the world to define a basis of design.
The solution provided a reliable, automated, dry fire protection system. The system included water supply redundancy to fill the system with water to extinguish the fire in a controlled manner to address a crack in a hose valve or in response to a command of the fire department. It also incorporated other special features such as a life safety communication system integrated with system monitoring, freeze and corrosion protection features. Our scope of services included providing construction support services for AMTRAK including on-site witnessing of testing, shop drawings, change orders, and RFI resolutions.