Secaucus Transfer Station

Engineering excellence and innovative construction solutions were among reasons the jury chose the Secaucus Transfer Station as a project of the year.

"This was a tremendously complex project that will open up new access all over the state of New Jersey," said one jury member. "This project has outstanding implications for the region."

Located midway between New York and Newark's Penn Stations, the Secaucus Transfer Station is a multilevel rail station built on 28 acres in Secaucus, N.J. The 300,000-sq.-ft., four-level structure is built at the intersection of the northeast corridor and main line and features five train platforms with air-conditioned waiting rooms, a concourse level with public rotunda, ticketing area, management offices and mechanical spaces.

The $450 million project will link 10 of the New Jersey Transit's 11 train lines, providing expanded access to many destinations in New Jersey and reducing commuter time by 15 minutes or more.

The exterior of the building is clad primarily in architectural precast concrete panels with insulated glass units set in aluminum frames. A large skylight with flanking clerestory windows is placed over the main station space with two smaller skylights over the northeast corridor. The interiors feature walls with stone and agglomerate stone finishes and stone flooring. Ceilings are gypsum board, linear metal pan and acoustic metal pan panel.

The transfer station was built on grade with raised bridges and viaducts so that it connected with three of New Jersey Transit's commuter lines. The main line platform, on the first level, provides access to the New Jersey Transit Main and Bergen County lines. There are two island platforms, each 755 ft. long.

The northeast corridor platform is located on the second level and provides access to the northeast corridor tracks. There are three 1,200-ft.-long platforms serving four tracks at this level. Finally, there are two mezzanines on the third and fourth levels that connect passengers to other locations and have ancillary mechanical spaces, offices and storage areas. A combination of 31 escalators, 11 elevators and 36 stairways provide vertical transportation throughout the station.

As part of the project, the team also had to create public space that encourages efficient, easy transfer for riders while conveying a sense of grandeur found in historic train stations. To accomplish this, the main public space is a 75-ft.-high rotunda capped a by 50-ft.-wide skylight flanked by clerestory windows.

Public services such as waiting areas, ticket purchasing, public restrooms, stations offices and future retail spaces are included. An evaluation committee including New Jersey State Council on the Arts representatives, transit staff and the architect selected artwork that reflects the context of the site and purpose of the building. The public art program includes sculptures, murals, paintings, mosaics, imprinted ceramic tile and porcelain tile pieces.

The team ensured that construction did not disrupt the 400 passenger and freight trains that traveled through the site daily. Construction crews worked at off-peak hours, primarily at night, when fewer trains were scheduled to travel. Also, civil engineers designed a barrier wall to separate the train tracks from the workers during construction.

To address vibration and noise from trains passing through the site, the Secaucus Transfer Station was designed with expansion joints in the station and on the platforms. A typical structure of this size might normally include two or three joints, but this station incorporated six large seismic joints slicing through the building. The foundations for the railroad and the building are separate so vibrations cannot be transmitted from one structure to the other.

Lastly, heavy architectural precast concrete panel cladding was added to minimize train noise.

Nine contractors were brought on the job at different times, which meant that coordination was always important. Biweekly project team meetings were held throughout the eight-year construction phase from 1996 to 2003. Periodic workshops, some involving computer modeling, were held onsite to resolve technical issues as they arose.