[Date Prev][Date Next]
[Chronological]
[Thread]
[Top]
Re: (rshsdepot) Elizabethtown, PA
- Subject: Re: (rshsdepot) Elizabethtown, PA
- From: "James Kelling" <james.kelling_@_nara.gov>
- Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:31:09 -0400
http://www.west2k.com/papix/elizabethtown.jpg
Above are some recent photos (not mine) of the former PRR station, from James West's website. The tower-like structure is the former baggage elevator, alongside the elevated tracks.
J. Kelling
>>> I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com 3/10/2009 9:10 AM >>>
From the Intelligencer Journal.
Original story and photos at:
_http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/234832_
(http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/234832)
Bernie Wagenblast
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The economic downturn has brought unexpected benefits to Elizabethtown
Borough.
An ambitious improvement project that would create a second downtown around
the borough's deteriorating train station is in line for an $8 million boost
from Washington, D.C.
The federal plan to stimulate the economy has been looking for
"shovel-ready" projects in need of funds, David Royer, the county's chief transportation
planner, said Monday. But projects that are ready to move with so little lead
time are surprisingly hard to find.
The plan for the Elizabethtown train station â€" a heavily used platform above
a dilapidated and shuttered station house â€" is poised to roll. The
revitalization project, which has been in the works for more than a decade, is
seemingly weeks away from receiving all the approvals it needs.
It lacks only funding. But that could change today, if Gov. Ed Rendell signs
a package of stimulus funding recommendations that includes $8 million for
the Elizabethtown station.
The state Department of Transportation, a longtime supporter of the
Elizabethtown plan, supported the recommendation.
And the Transportation Technical Advisory Committee to Lancaster County
Planning Commission on Monday announced the local rail-improvement project has
been added to its Transportation Improvement Program for 2009.
"It's a wonderful day for Elizabethtown and the greater Elizabethtown area
to be able to announce that we have the funding in place for this project,
which we've been working on steadily since 1996," borough manager Peter Whipple
said Monday, just hours after TTAC's announcement.
The $8 million, combined with various state and local grants gathered over
the past several years, will cover the cost of the project, Whipple said.
That includes rehabilitation of the stone station house, which was built in
1915 and has been boarded up for at least three decades.
Borough officials have high hopes that the structure will become a hub for
transit and commercial activities.
The project also includes raising and extending the station platforms,
adding elevators to the site and improving the parking lot and grounds.
"The entire project is going to be covered," Whipple said.
Whipple said final comments on the project from both Amtrak and PennDOT are
expected within the next few weeks. The Federal Transit Administration and
Federal Railroad Administration have signed off on the plan.
"There is a lot of work going on concurrently," Whipple said. "The project
needs to be shovel-ready by June 29. That's when we need to be ready to go out
for a bid. But there is still a lot of work, from both an engineering and an
administrative standpoint, to be accomplished between now and then."
That includes making final revisions to the plan, amending reimbursement
agreements based on the stimulus grant and acquiring construction easements from
Amtrak.
"There is going to be a flurry of activity here in the next 60 days in order
to ensure that we are ready to meet the shovel-ready nature of the stimulus
package," Whipple said.
Whipple said the federal stimulus program "fell into place nicely with our
particular project. It provided an impetus for various agencies, ourselves
included, to get the project ready for bids in a very short amount of time."
If all goes smoothly, he said, the first shovel could hit the ground by the
end of summer, and the new transit facility would be open for business by fall
2010.
"All this has happened very quickly," Royer said.
"The timing is perfect" for the Elizabethtown station, he said.
"It's just about through the design process, but we really hadn't identified
funding for construction. It was a case of being at the right place at the
right time."
E-mail: _tknapp_@_lnpnews.com_ (mailto:tknapp@lnpnews.com)
===============================
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
=================================
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
------------------------------