KS Engineers, P.C. (KSE) served as the Lead Designer for the Design-Build replacement of the Buckram Road Bridge on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) Oyster Bay Branch in Locust Valley, Nassau County, New York. KSE was responsible for providing comprehensive final design and post-design engineering services, including bridge and structural engineering, railroad track design, civil engineering, roadway alignment design, drainage design, retaining wall design, utility coordination, and construction support. The firm’s responsibilities also included development of a new ballasted track system, maintenance walkway, safety railings, bridge approaches, embankment stabilization, and roadway improvements that enhanced both rail operations and public safety while minimizing impacts to railroad service.
Originally constructed in 1889, the Buckram Road Bridge carried a single railroad track across Buckram Road on a three-span structure that had reached the end of its useful service life. The project replaced the aging bridge and adjacent open-deck viaduct with a modern, single-span, 78-foot-long steel through-girder bridge that significantly improved structural performance while eliminating intermediate supports over the roadway. The new bridge increased the roadway’s vertical clearance from approximately 11 feet 2 inches to a minimum of 14 feet, greatly enhancing safety for commercial vehicles, emergency responders, school buses, and the traveling public.
In addition to replacing the bridge, the project addressed longstanding roadway deficiencies by developing a new roadway alignment that corrected substandard geometrics, improved vehicle sight distance, increased lane widths, enhanced pedestrian accessibility, and provided a safer and more efficient transportation corridor beneath the railroad crossing. KSE also designed the track alignment to seamlessly transition onto the new bridge while maintaining the operational requirements of the active LIRR Oyster Bay Branch.
One of the project’s most significant achievements was the innovative construction sequencing developed through the Design-Build process. Careful planning and prefabrication enabled demolition of the existing three-span bridge and installation of the new single-span structure during a single weekend railroad outage. During this accelerated operation, crews completed partial demolition of the existing east abutment, drilled and prepared bridge seats, installed precast concrete bridge seats and approach slabs, erected the new steel superstructure, completed backfilling and compaction operations, and placed subballast and ballast to restore rail service on schedule. The compressed construction schedule minimized service disruptions while significantly reducing impacts to commuters and the surrounding community.
The completed project improved railroad reliability, enhanced roadway safety, increased vertical clearance, reduced long-term maintenance requirements, and extended the service life of a critical transportation asset serving both the Long Island Rail Road and Nassau County roadway network.
The project’s innovative Design-Build delivery, accelerated construction, and exceptional engineering were recognized with three prestigious industry honors: the American Council of Engineering Companies of New Jersey (ACEC NJ) Award for Engineering Excellence, the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York (ACEC NY) Diamond Award for Engineering Excellence, and the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) National Award for Engineering Excellence.
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