(rshsdepot) Saugatuck, CT

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

New Year will bring new Saugatuck Train Station

By: Fredrika Ward, Staff Writer December 13, 2002
Westport Minuteman

By mid-2004, Westport's 160-year-old Saugatuck Train Station will be a more
user-friendly facility.


The station is one of several scheduled to undergo construction as part of a
Connecticut Department of Transportation project to make stations along the
New Haven-New York line compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act
specifications.


The total cost of this project is estimated at $7.8 million. According to
the DOT, 80 percent of the project will be financed by federal funds, and
the remaining 20 percent by state funds.


According to Second Selectman Carl Leaman, staging for the project will
begin Saturday, Dec. 14. However, to avoid interruption through the holiday
season, work will not begin until after Jan. 1.


The most significant portion of this construction will be the installation
of a new pedestrian tunnel under the tracks to the west of the westbound
station building. Construction methods for the new tunnel are modeled after
the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, or "Big Dig" in Boston and are supposed
to eliminate the need to stop service during renovation.


An elevator will also be put in place to carry passengers between the
platform, parking lot, and tunnel levels. The existing tunnel will also be
renovated.


In addition, textured warning strips, similar to those in Grand Central
Station, will be installed at the edge of the platform, increased site
lighting will be added, and general improvements will be made to the parking
lots, platform ramps, stairs, and landscaping.


Within the Railroad Place station house itself, an ADA-compatible ticket
window will be installed and the restrooms, heating, and lighting will all
be renovated.


During the estimated 18 months of construction, a temporary ticket window
will be provided while the station itself is closed for renovations, Leaman
said.


Baier Construction, from Bloomfield, Conn., has been awarded the contract
for this project.


According to the DOT, available parking at the station will be reduced after
the new tunnel is installed. The number of spaces to be eliminated has not
yet been determined, said Westport Officer Nick Tiberio, who is part of the
Railroad Commission.


Since it was built in 1840, the station has only been altered three times -
in the 1870s, the 1890s, and the 1930s. As the structure is eligible for the
state Register of Historic Places, all work must comply with the Secretary
of the Interior's Guidelines for Historic Rehabilitation.


According to Architectural Review Board member Vesna Herman, the planning
phase for this project began in late 1996 when the State of Connecticut, in
an effort to make the station more accessible to the disabled, proposed a
plan which included a bridge connecting the station's east and west
platforms.


Displeased with the proposal, Westport's Historic District Commission,
Historical Society, and Architectural Review Board worked together to
sponsor a design contest to try to find a different solution.


The ARB selected a design that Herman described as "using minimal additional
structures but still complying with the ADA." With the altered design came
additional cost. The Town of Westport will be responsible for $230,000, 1/3
of the added cost. According to Second Selectman Leaman, this money will go
toward higher quality material, like granite rather than concrete steps, and
"higher quality workmanship."


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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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