Streetcar Excavation Reaches 15th Street

Work is quickly progressing along the first portion of the streetcar route, northbound on Elm Street. Crews began work in September digging an 8-foot-wide trench between 12th and 14th Streets. Within the past week, an additional city block has been excavated with the trench now reaching 15th Street. Along the way, construction contractor Messer/Prues/Delta (MPD) will be removing old concrete, rotting railroad ties, and streetcar tracks leftover from the mid-1800s, which have been buried underneath the street since 1951.

After the entire trench is dug out, MPD will tie and weld rebar in to the track bed to support the rails, then load the rail onto the rebar. From there, workers will spend two weeks adjusting the rails to align to specifications, covering them in a rubber sleeve, and placing and finishing the concrete in the track bed.