Moffatt & Nichol's transportation practice integrates the firm's environmental planning, civil and structural engineering expertise with a unique understanding of multi-modal and cargo and freight transportation systems. Offering a full range of engineering consulting services, Moffatt & Nichol provides planning, design and construction management for highways, bridges, ports and intermodal structures. Our technical skills are further enhanced by our transportation economics and advisory capabilities. We bring creativity and innovation to each endeavor, and as such we have been called upon to address some of the most congested roadways, interchanges, bridges, rail systems and cargo routes in the world.
EXPERTISE
Environmental Studies & Documentation
Economic Planning & Analysis
Public Outreach
Interstate, Urban & Rural Freeways
Multi-Level & Urban Interchanges
Local Streets & Roadways
Toll Roads & Turnpikes
Long-Span, Pedestrian & Urban Bridges
Non-Motorized Transportation Facilities
Commuter & Freight Railways
Roadway/Rail Grade Separations
Rail Transit Structures
HOV Facilities
Intermodal Facilities
Waterborne Transportation Systems
Pavement Systems
Sound Walls & Retaining Walls
Parking Facilities
Site Utilities, Drainage & Hydrology
Seismic Retrofits
Corridor Development
SERVICES
Transportation Planning
Alternatives Analysis
Project Studies & Reports
Feasibility Studies & Fatal Flaw Analyses
NEPA/SEPA Analyses & Documentation
Public & Agency Outreach Programs
Community & Health Impact Analyses
Indirect & Cumulative Effect Studies
Context Sensitive Solutions
Community & Environmental Studies
Bridge Studies & Type Selection
Bridge & Vessel Collision Analysis
Bridge Fendering Design
Rail Planning & Design
Goods Movement & Freight Corridor Studies
Freight Economics
Distribution & Logistics Evaluations
Benefit/Cost Studies
Asset Valuation & Public Private Partnership Consulting
We strive to hire the most talented and creative people possible, knowing that success will inevitably follow when our creative employees perform advanced work that leads to practical solutions to clients' problems. Practical solutions are ones that contractors can build, are cost-effective, or that help improve our clients' operations, enabling them to be more competitive and efficient. Our blend of imagination, high-end analytics, and decades of practical experience is a distinguishing quality of Moffatt & Nichol.
Our Values
Consistently holding to a unique set values.
Our values underlie our culture and reputation, govern our actions, and reinforce the essential beliefs that sustain Moffatt & Nichol.
Integrity is paramount. Be fair, honest and forthright with all parties.
Maintain a strong tradition of ethical conduct as the foundation of our business.
Never stand on past successes. Constantly improve our skills and approaches.
Overachieve on project assignments while understanding the important distinction between excellence and perfection.
Secure our future by constantly exceeding our clients' expectations.
Respect our competitors.
Share our earnings with employees.
Maintain a meritocracy in which employees' hard work, sacrifices and achievements will be rewarded.
Be good corporate citizens within our communities.
Our Vision
Working together to be the best in our core practices and supporting disciplines.
Our value to clients comes from our professional practices. We will focus on these, grow them and make them the best in our industry by adding value through technical excellence and creativity. In some fields, this might mean that we are the biggest. However, we see no value in striving to be the largest at anything for its own sake. Rather, we will strive simply to be the best. We do not have to be all things to all people to be successful.
Client/Owner: Virginia Department of Transportation
Location: Occoquan, Virginia
Practices/Services: Transportation
When it became obvious that the Route 123 Bridge over the Occoquan River in Prince William County, Virginia, was functionally obsolete, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) hired Moffatt & Nichol to complete a feasibility study to investigate widening and repair of the existing three-lane bridge versus building a new one. After VDOT decided to pursue the recommended twin-bridge replacement, Moffatt & Nichol completed the final design and worked with the public through town meetings and workshops to address aesthetic issues to ensure that the new bridge would be compatible with the historic waterfront community of Occoquan.
The bridge replacement is the final step in widening Route 123 between Burke Lake Road in Fairfax County and the Occoquan River. The twin bridge, with three lanes in each direction, is scheduled for completion in late 2007. Architectural treatments include decorative railings, columns, arched girders, and lights, as well as pier facades that mimic brickwork. The bridge clearance was also increased to 44 feet to enable passage for taller sailboats.
Approaches to the bridges are being reconstructed to tie into the six-lane section in Prince William County and the six-lane section currently under construction in Fairfax County.
Rail Corridor Links Port to Inland Markets
Alameda Corridor
Client/Owner: Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority
Location: Los Angeles, California
Practices/Services: Transportation
Moffatt & Nichol, in a joint venture, provided professional services for the planning and program management of the Alameda Corridor Program under the direction of Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA). The $2.4 billion program consolidated 90 miles of freight train tracks into one, 22-mile high-capacity rail corridor from the Port of Long Angeles and the Port of Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles. The corridor included 11 miles of depressed trainway with 28 grade crossing structures, nine miles of at-grade railroad, six major highway-to-rail or rail-to-rail grade separation projects and six waterway crossings. The project required close coordination with ACTA, the ports, municipal and county governments, Caltrans, various regulatory agencies and railroad operators.
Virginia Dare Bridge Project
Virginia Dare Bridge
Client/Owner: North Carolina Department of Transportation
Location: Dare County, North Carolina
Practices/Services: Transportation
Moffatt & Nichol performed a vessel impact study, hydraulic analysis, scour study and design services as a subconsultant for a new, $106 million 8.4-kilometer-long bridge crossing Croatan Sound in North Carolina. Design criteria was established for methodology and extreme event combinations, which included a statistical determination of design impact loads, risk assessment and an evaluation of bridge span, pier strength and pier protection alternatives. The study data and design work were used to develop both the conventional and segmental bridge design alternatives. For the conventional alternative, Moffatt & Nichol also provided substructure and foundation designs.
Innovative Seismic Design for New East Span
Innovative Seismic Design for the New Bay Bridge East Span
Client/Owner: Caltrans Division of Structures
Location: Oakland, California
Practices/Services: Transportation
In a joint venture, Moffatt & Nichol served as the project manager for the design of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge's new East Span. Severely damaged during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the 2.2-mile-long replacement span is an example of innovative seismic design. The bridge will have expandable deck joints, enabling the bridge to expand and contract during tremors, and the steel beams will deform under pressure, absorbing force. The design also includes twin 1.5-mile-long viaducts that will carry five lanes of traffic in each direction and a 15-foot-wide pedestrian/bike lane on the south side of the eastbound deck. Since opening in 1936, the bridge has served as the primary route between San Francisco and the east bay communities beyond.
Occoquan River Bridge
Occoquan River Bridge
Client/Owner: Virginia Department of Transportation
Location: Prince William and Fairfax counties, Virginia
Practices/Services: Transportation & Goods Movement
Moffatt & Nichol provided concept development and final design services for the replacement of an existing bridge across the Occoquan River in the historic Town of Occoquan. In an historic district, the bridge crosses a navigable waterway with active barge and recreational vessel traffic, and aesthetics played an important role in the structure's final design. The 1,180-foot-long replacement bridge is the first of its design in Virginia, using a spliced bulb-T girder, FRP composite railings, and corrosion resistant metallic MMFX-2 reinforcing steel. Services included public outreach, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, scour analysis, dredging plans, staged construction, surveying, geotechnical and environmental support services.
Highway Widening Keeps NC Traffic
NC-16 Widening
Client/Owner: North Carolina Department of Transportation
Location: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Practices/Services: Transportation
Moffatt & Nichol provided design and construction documents for the widening a 7.5-kilometer section of NC-16 and designed a new bridge associated with the project, widening the roadway from two lanes to four and creating a divided, raised median. The new bridge featured a three-span, pre-stressed concrete girder superstructure with a concrete post-and-beam substructure. The use of asymmetrical design reduced utility, right-of-way and environmental impacts in a highly urbanized area. Services included traffic analysis, traffic control, pavement marking, drainage, right-of-way and construction plans as well as structure recommendations. The project required coordination with four different utility companies. The project was designed to be constructed in stages using the existing bridge as a temporary detour structure.
Hawaii Superferry
Superferry Links Hawaiian Islands
Client/Owner: Hawaii Dept. of Transportation, Harbors Division
Location: Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii
Practices/Services: Transportation
Moffatt & Nichol is providing project management, technical review and design services on this project, the objective of which is to deliver four new ferry terminals on the islands of Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii. Moffatt & Nichol's role, which began in October 2004, included the development of concept plans for the terminals. Moffatt & Nichol has made a significant contribution to the project through its identification of deliverables that work with the operator's schedule while also overcoming complex budgeting and environmental/permitting challenges. The firm also provided review and input to the State of Hawaii during selection of the design-build contractor and is managing day to day construction activities.
