M-1 Rail's Track to be Welded Together this Week

Posted on September 8, 2014

As work continues on the M-1 Rail streetcar line, construction workers this week will be welding a stockpile of steel track that will eventually carry cars along the route. The welding project will see 80-foot pieces of rail loaded onto an assembly line where they will be clamped together, welded together to form long “strings,” polished with a hand grinder, and then stored until ready to be laid in place.

Construction management firm Stacy & Witbeck will oversee the process Tuesday morning at a staging area near Temple Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Detroit.

M-1 Rail recently broke ground on Woodward Avenue and crews are now excavating the route. The $140-million line should be ready to start carrying passengers in about two years.

Related: M-1 on Track for Groundbreaking in Detroit

Related: Mayor Mike Duggan, M1 Rail Officials Hail Construction of Detroit’s First Streetcar in More than Half a Century

Photo Credit: Michael Butler/AttorneyButler