Hanson is completing a rail infrastructure assessment and rail capacity and operations analysis for a Midwestern coal-fired power plant to determine how it can export all of its coal combustion residuals (CCR) in the future. The export of these products for beneficial reuse supports the plant’s overall corporate goals.

The project involved evaluating existing client facilities and rail infrastructure to establish the feasibility of increased fly ash, bottom ash and gypsum throughput without negatively affecting inbound scrubber stone operations. Hanson’s scope also included the review and evaluation of inbound and outbound rail car interchange with the servicing Class 1 railroad to accommodate the significantly increased overall rail car throughput.

Hanson developed computational models to determine the existing rail throughput capacity for comparison to the required rail operational demands. Through this analysis, Hanson determined the existing rail infrastructure is not sufficient to accommodate the additional demand, so the team developed conceptual improvement plans and order-of-magnitude opinions of probable construction costs for the improvements. Hanson summarized the results of its project assessments and analyses with multiple summary presentations, which the client used for its internal project reviews and approvals.