BRUNSWICK

After breaking ground in the fall behind Turner Street, Consigli Construction is slightly ahead of schedule in building the Amtrak Downeaster layover facility, thanks in part to a mild winter.

Despite an initial round of opposition from some neighbors, Matt Tonello of Consigli said he hasn’t heard anything negative as the walls went up on the train structure.

“Honestly, I think everybody got to see the amount of trash that was removed from the site,” Tonello said. “We took out two 30-yard Dumpsters of trash and household waste, diapers, beer bottles, vodka bottles — it really was a waste.”

Tonello said he believes they have done a good job meeting both the needs of their client as well as addressing the concerns of the neighbors.

Tonello said that although much of the shell of the structure looks complete, they will be hard at work laying track for the facility over the summer.

The walls for the facility are constructed of polystyrene blocks that are stacked and tied together with rebar before being filled with concrete. Often used in residential basements for its insulation and waterproofing qualities, Consigli used the method throughout the structure to deaden sound.

“Other than the doors, if you’re in the building and that train goes by, you’re not going to notice it,” Tonello said from inside the massive facility where rebar was being set for the concrete pads where trains will park.

In all, the walls are comprised of four inches of concrete, with polystyrene insulation on both sides, metal siding on the exterior and plywood on the interior.

“I think it really increased the quality of their final product. It’s the largest use of insulated concrete forms I think we’ve seen in the state,” Tonello said.

Tonello credited the subcontractors on the job, Crooker Construction of Topsham and Sheridan Corporation of Fairfield.

As a historic rail yard, there was naturally the presence of coal ash to deal with. Tonello said the ash, which was previously just laying about on the surface, has since been buried and contained. Tonello said the ash has been covered with a marker layer in case future digging in the area threatens to disturb the buried ash.

Tonello said the ash is non-soluble and will not leech into other soils or migrate in any form from its current position.

Inside the facility, 60,000 pounds of duct work stands ready to exchange air from the train exhaust to keep workers inside safe. Baffles in the ceiling and other sound-deadening materials will also work to keep engine noise down while in the facility.

The wet pond nearby works as an on-site water treatment facility.

Water coming onto the site gets captured in catch basins. The water then travels through pipes into a separate basin that is lined with a membrane that retains the water inside the pond long enough for any sediment to settle out.

The Department of Environmental Protection-approved wet pond currently looks like a swimming pool but will soon be vegetated along the edges and will look like a small pond when finished. Although not a swimming hole by any means, Tonello said it will make a good hockey pond in the winter.

“A lot of thought, a lot of engineering, a lot of planning, as with any large project, goes into anything below grade (that) the passerby doesn’t really get to appreciate,” Tonello said.

dmcintire@timesrecord.com

The walls

• THE WALLS for the facility are constructed of polystyrene blocks that are stacked and tied together with rebar before being filled with concrete.