A direct current (DC) streetcar project with rails embedded in the street is under development
south of Lake Union in Seattle, Washington. DC trains can produce stray currents which can accelerate
the corrosion of buried utilities. As a first line of defense this project employs an insulated formed rubber
rail boot encased in the concrete track slab. A rubber boot encasing the rails provides a high resistance to
earth and is an effective barrier providing a reduction of stray current discharges. Traditionally, Seattle
Public Utilities (SPU) would have replaced any watermains within 10 feet parallel to the rail and
crossings. The pipe was evaluated and found to have at least 100 years of useful life left if the pipe
environment were to remain the same. If the pipe were replaced, SPU would coat the replacement pipe as
a secondary barrier against stray current. If the pipe was to remain in the ground, a secondary protection
measure would need to be evaluated. In an effort to augment traditional stray current control methods and
significantly increase rail to earth resistance values at boot defects, it was decided to investigate the
benefits of increased resistivity of the concrete track slab.