RailTEC is delighted to share that alumnus, Po-Yin (Paul) Liao, was part of the Arup-Jacobs project management team that won the 2024 Dr. William W. Hay Award for Excellence, along with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, for its work on the Long Island Railroad Expansion Project. The four-year Long Island Railroad Expansion Project added a third, 9.8-mile stretch of track that alleviates congestion and allows more trains to travel in both directions, eliminated eight dangerous at-grade crossings, replaced seven bridges with taller structures, upgraded six stations with enhanced accessibility, and rebuilt the infrastructure with a new signal system, enhanced positive train control and mechanical and electrical systems, and new durable concrete ties.
The Hay Award for Excellence recognizes Arup-Jacobs joint efforts managing the project which included using creative construction methods to minimize service disruptions, such as Box Jacking, a steerable rolling gantry crane for track switch installation, and collaborative digital technology to accelerate design-build delivery. Awarded during the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) Conference held on September 15-18 in Louisville, Ky., this award was established by the directors of AREMA in 1999 to recognize outstanding achievement in railway engineering and to honor the memory and accomplishments of one of its members and leaders, the late Dr. William Walter Hay, a professor of railway civil engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. One of the highest awards in the rail industry, the criterion for the award includes innovation, safety, and service performance and reliability.
Liao is a senior track/civil engineer specializing in railroad engineering in Arup’s New York office. His experience includes mega rail projects, and his work with railroad track departments, railroad operation analysis, and geospatial technologies allows him to efficiently develop design schemes and visualize complex designs with the latest technology. Liao earned an MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he worked as a RailTEC Graduate Research Assistant. His research focus was primarily rail transportation, rail simulation, and rail traffic capacity analysis.
Other RailTEC alumni also participated in the Long Island Railroad Expansion Project.