A press release via RT&S Magazine; September 1, 2020
When Brightline Trains embarks on jacking a precast concrete box under an Orlando roadway this month it will mark a historical accomplishment for the US construction industry. Brightline will be one of the first companies in the nation and the first outside the northeast to use this innovative box-jacking method that can build a tunnel for a train in the fraction of the time it would take using conventional methods. The box-jack operation at Goldenrod Rd., just east of Orlando International Airport, will take just two weeks to complete compared to traditional underpass construction which would have shut down local roadways for nearly a year.
The box-jacking system was developed by Italy-based Petrucco, and will be carried out by them in collaboration with Brightline general contractor Granite Construction. The system uses hydraulic jacks to push two precast concrete boxes, measuring 146-feet and 126-feet long respectively with 42-ft side walls, while an excavator digs out a path from inside the box and from the opposite side.