Yesterday, I traveled up and down Eastern Pennsylvania with my good friend Sen. Arlen Specter, to talk transportation with local community leaders. At each stop along the way – from Norristown to Elizabethtown, to Harrisburg and Allentown – the top issue on everyone’s agenda was getting Recovery Act dollars back into Pennsylvania’s economy as quickly as possible. Thanks to the leadership of Pennsylvania’s elected officials, we’ve been able to do just that and get people to work on projects in record time.
Thanks to Recovery Act dollars, however, the Elizabethtown station is set to receive these long-overdue upgrades -- like additional parking, bathroom facilities, and a major platform expansion. And because Lobar, Inc., the prime contractor on the Elizabethtown project, won with a low bid 11 percent below initial estimates, PennDOT will be able to use the cost-savings on a greener method for surfacing the facility’s additional parking space.
Local rail patrons are fired up about the renovations that will make commuting and traveling the region easier, more comfortable and more convenient. One area resident, Franklin Shearer, even came to the groundbreaking just to share how thrilled he was about the station upgrades: “My wife and I travel 20,000 miles a year on Amtrak. All of our travel begins and ends right here. We compliment you for this project. Thank you for making it happen."
Senator Specter and I have seen first-hand that the Recovery Act is generating thousands of good jobs on projects like this in Pennsylvania, while upgrading and modernizing public transportation for the benefit of working people. Here, the Elizabethtown rail station will get a much-needed make-over so it can continue to meet the demands of travelers who depend on Amtrak. And at the same time, it will have a ripple effect on the local economy, starting with the 200 workers Lobar estimates will work on the project over its lifetime.
In Elizabethtown and around the country, the Recovery Act is working as intended: It’s putting people to work right now, while making critical investments in our national transportation system that will help grow our economy over the long-term.
In fact, yesterday Sen. Specter and I broke ground on one of these projects – a $9.3 million dollar Recovery Act-funded renovation of the Elizabethtown Amtrak station. The turn-of-the-century rail station in Elizabethtown is a beautiful old stone structure, that after years of neglect needs critical facility upgrades to keep up with the growing rail commuter population. In the last five years alone, ridership at the Elizabethtown Amtrak station has grown 93 percent, but the station has lacked the money to build adequate parking or even functioning bathroom facilities.
Thanks to Recovery Act dollars, however, the Elizabethtown station is set to receive these long-overdue upgrades -- like additional parking, bathroom facilities, and a major platform expansion. And because Lobar, Inc., the prime contractor on the Elizabethtown project, won with a low bid 11 percent below initial estimates, PennDOT will be able to use the cost-savings on a greener method for surfacing the facility’s additional parking space.
Local rail patrons are fired up about the renovations that will make commuting and traveling the region easier, more comfortable and more convenient. One area resident, Franklin Shearer, even came to the groundbreaking just to share how thrilled he was about the station upgrades: “My wife and I travel 20,000 miles a year on Amtrak. All of our travel begins and ends right here. We compliment you for this project. Thank you for making it happen."
Senator Specter and I have seen first-hand that the Recovery Act is generating thousands of good jobs on projects like this in Pennsylvania, while upgrading and modernizing public transportation for the benefit of working people. Here, the Elizabethtown rail station will get a much-needed make-over so it can continue to meet the demands of travelers who depend on Amtrak. And at the same time, it will have a ripple effect on the local economy, starting with the 200 workers Lobar estimates will work on the project over its lifetime.
In Elizabethtown and around the country, the Recovery Act is working as intended: It’s putting people to work right now, while making critical investments in our national transportation system that will help grow our economy over the long-term.
The Recovery Act has been great for the entire country. This is one of many good examples. Another one is making commuter rail travel safer between Fullerton and Mission Viejo/Laguna Niguel Metrolink stations in Orange County. Orange County Transportation Authority and Metrolink are getting ready to roll out the new GO-LOCAL Transportation Program early next year. This will make Metrolink the backbone transportation system for the county and use the buses to support it by getting people from home to train station and train station to work. Trains will run every 15 to 30 minutes all day long. Recovery Act dollars are going into this project through track and station upgrades, installing automatic collision avoidance equipment on trains, and making bus upgrades. This will change the way Orange County gets around next year. Best wishes, Michael E. Bailey.
Posted by: Michael E. Bailey | August 25, 2009 at 06:50 PM
"the station has lacked the money to build adequate parking"
There's no such thing as inadequate parking, only mismanaged parking. When 100% of the parking spaces are taken, it's a signal that the parking rate too low for that time of day.
Posted by: Derek Hofmann | August 25, 2009 at 07:17 PM
Do you have anything like this planned for Orange County, California?
Posted by: Orange County Web Design | August 26, 2009 at 12:41 AM