L.B. Foster Supplies 89,175 CXT® Concrete Ties for Bay Area SMART Transit Project

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- L.B. Foster Company (NASDAQ: FSTR) announced that it has been awarded a contract to provide 89,175 of its CXT Concrete Ties for the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) project. The CXT Fastclip ties will be installed on the new San Francisco Bay Area passenger rail system connecting Sonoma County to the Larkspur Ferry Terminal in Marin. L.B. Foster began shipping ties to the general contractor, Stacy and Witbeck Inc./Herzog Contracting Corporation Joint Venture, in June 2012 and will complete delivery during the second quarter of 2013.

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SMART specified CXT Concrete Ties over wood ties for this important transit project after researching the environmental and cost benefits of both products. "This project is a great example of agency and engineering firms working closely with CXT in an extraordinary effort to specify environmentally-sound ties with proven life cycle cost benefits for a critical transit system," said Mark Hammons, L.B. Foster National Sales Manager for CXT Concrete Ties.

A SMART Project design report notes "the use of concrete ties resulted in estimated track costs from 10% to 15% lower than the use of timber ties using conventional track construction methods. If a mechanized track laying system were to be employed, costs could be as much as 40% lower." The transit agency further stated, "life cycle costs for concrete ties are lower than timber ties due primarily to higher maintenance costs for timber ties; greenhouse gas emissions associated with the manufacture and life cycle of concrete ties appear to be less than timber tie emissions; concrete ties avoid the use of wood preservatives; concrete ties avoid the disposal issue associated with treated timber ties removed from service."

The informative report also stated that Class 1 railroads install over one million concrete ties per year in regular track maintenance programs and most transit and commuter rail systems on the West Coast are using concrete ties as their standard.

About CXT® Concrete Ties
L.B. Foster operates the most advanced concrete rail tie manufacturing facilities in North America. The company maintains strategically located CXT production plants in Spokane, Washington and Tucson, Arizona. Both facilities are ISO 9001:2008 certified and produce a complete product line of concrete ties for all rail applications.

About L.B. Foster Company
L.B. Foster Company is a leading manufacturer, fabricator and distributor of products and services for the rail, construction, energy and utility markets with locations in North America and Europe.  Please visit our Website: www.lbfoster.com   

CXT^® is a Registered Trademark of L.B. Foster Company.

L.B. Foster Company Sales and Media Contacts:
Mark Hammons, National Sales Manager, L.B. Foster CXT^® Concrete Ties
509.921.8726   [email protected]   

Jake Fuellhart, L.B. Foster Company Marketing Communications Manager
412.928.5645   [email protected]

SOURCE L.B. Foster Company