(rshsdepot) Elizabethtown, PA

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From today's Intelligencer  Journal.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Pitts hears Elizabethtown Amtrak station  woes

December 4, 2007

By TOM KNAPP, Intellligencer Journal 
The glass is broken in many of the windows that aren`t already boarded up.  
Wooden door frames at the Elizabethtown train station are warped under  
peeling paint, and the concrete steps leading to the railroad platform are  cracked 
and broken.  
Yet the deeply rutted mud-and-gravel parking lot through which U.S. Rep. Joe  
Pitts trudged Monday morning was overflowing with parked cars.  
More people are boarding Amtrak trains using the Elizabethtown platforms each 
 month, which makes borough officials anxious about continual delays of a  
long-awaited renovation and construction project at the site.  
``It`s got great potential,`` Pitts said after touring the station house,  
which has been vacant for nearly three decades.  
``It`s a great asset to the community if they can fix it up,`` he said.  
``We`re going to try to help.``  
Although Pitts didn`t make any promises Monday, borough officials hope he can 
 direct funding their way to help cover the $5.5 million cost of the planned  
project.  
``It`s in really, really poor shape, obviously,`` borough manager Pete  
Whipple told Pitts.  
``But this is not a difficult fix,`` he said. ``It`s a lovely little  
building, and we`d love to get it open again.``  
The plan — which includes renovations to the station for use as a commercial  
and transit hub, reconstruction of the platforms and improvements to the 
parking  lot — has been in the works for nearly a decade.  
However, financial woes at Amtrak have forced it to withdraw nearly $500,000  
in funds from the project, and new federal accessibility standards 
necessitated  a redesign that added significantly to the cost.  
Whipple said the original plan — with a $2.5 million price tag in early 2005  
— has just been revised.  
Using nearly $200,000 in county funds for engineering and design work, the  
borough has come up with a new estimate of $4.8 million. Additional costs,  
including construction management and Amtrak oversight, will bring that figure  
closer to $5.5 million, Whipple said.  
The borough already has socked away more than $1.5 million in grants, leaving 
 about $4 million still needed.  
``That was the impetus for inviting Congressman Pitts here — to find a home  
for that $4 million so we can move ahead with our project,`` Whipple said 
later.  
``We feel Congressman Pitts was keenly aware of our funding needs, and he and 
 his staff pledged to explore any funding options for us.``  
The borough hopes to obtain all state and federal approvals for the project  
by March and solicit bids in June. Construction, Whipple said, will take about 
a  year to complete. There is no projected start date for construction.  
Borough officials met with Pitts and state Rep. Dave Hickernell to discuss  
costs early Monday before leading Pitts on a tour of the train station and  
several related projects in the borough`s master plan.  
Masonic Village CEO Joseph Murphy said the site for Sycamore Square, a  
commercial and office complex, and Sycamore Apartments, with 126 residential  
units, was picked largely because of its proximity to the rail line.  
The development now under construction is located on the outskirts of the  
Masonic Village campus and is an easy stroll from the station.  
``This site was selected in 1910 because of the rail lines, and it`s still  
very important,`` Murphy said. ``It`s absolutely essential to the community.``  
Pitts visited the Mars Snackfoods industrial complex to review about $90  
million in ongoing and planned growth there.  
Borough officials paved the way for several key property acquisitions for  
Mars, the closure of one road and the relocation of another to allow the  
expansion. 



**************************************Check out AOL's list of 2007's hottest 
products.
(http://money.aol.com/special/hot-products-2007?NCID=aoltop00030000000001)

=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
To Unsubscribe: http://lists.railfan.net/rshsdepot-photo/unsub.html

------------------------------

End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1638
********************************

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