(rshsdepot) Trenton and Newark, NJ Broad Street Station renovations

[jdent1_@_optonline.net]

May 11, 5:31 PM EDT
NJT approves renovation of Trenton, Newark Broad Street stations

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- NJ Transit approved contracts worth more than $100
million Wednesday for renovation work at the Trenton and Newark Broad
Street railroad stations.

The work at the Trenton station will nearly triple the size of the current
facility, expanding the building to 46,000 square feet.  State
Transportation Commissioner Jack Lettiere said the project will give
Trenton "a station that is worthy of our state capital."

The work will include new waiting areas, retail shops, restrooms and
dining facilities.  Heating and air conditioning systems and elevators and
escalators will be replaced.

The plaza area outside the station also will be redesigned as part of the
$53.2 million project, with an emphasis on improving passenger connections
to crosstown buses and the River Line light rail service.

The project is expected to take about two years to complete. The agency
said it will have extra customer service representatives to assist
travelers during the construction period.

"The modernization of the train station not only will improve the
transportation services at the heart of the city, but, even more
importantly, this new station will help drive economic development
activity downtown," Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer said in a written
statement.

The $50.8 million project at Newark Broad Street Station will focus
primarily on improving handicapped access.

New elevators and restrooms and installation of high-level boarding
platforms all are designed to improve service for customers with
disabilities, the agency said.

In addition, the main waiting room will be renovated, lighting will be
upgraded throughout the station, three railroad bridges in the vicinity
will be rebuilt and canopies will be installed above the new platforms.

The station will remain open during construction, which is scheduled to
begin this summer and be completed in late 2007.

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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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