SEPTA begins Girard, Spring Garden renovations

Written by jrood

SEPTA has started renovations to the Girard and Spring Garden stations on the Broad Street Subway, the transit agency's largest project funded by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  

SEPTA General Manager
Joseph M. Casey was joined by U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, Philadelphia City
Councilman Darrell Clarke and a host of other city, state and federal officials
and other dignitaries at the Spring Garden Station to officially break ground
on construction.

 

The $25-million project
represents the first modernization for the Girard and Spring Garden stations
since original construction in the late 1920s.

 

"This marks a new beginning
for these stations," Casey said. "These renovations will allow us to improve
the service and amenities available to our customers.

 

"The project meets the
goals of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by creating jobs, and also
contributes to the long-term economic development of the community."

 

Over 200 jobs are being
created by the Girard-Spring Garden project, including nearly 100 in
construction, and more than 100 support positions with contractors and
suppliers.

 

Girard and Spring Garden
are two of the busiest stations on the Broad Street Subway, and combined serve
more than 10,000 riders each day. They are also among the original stops on the
line, which began service in 1928, running from Olney Avenue to City Hall.

 

The revitalized stations
will also play key roles as a number of exciting developments move forward on
North Broad Street, such as the conversion of the State Office Building at
Broad and Spring Garden streets into an apartment building with first-floor
retail shops.

 

Improvements at the
stations include new elevators, stairs, cashier lines, concrete restoration,
column repairs and concrete restoration. There will also be new tiling and
artwork, along with new power, lighting, signage and fire alarm systems. SEPTA
will also install new systems for customer communications. The modernized
facilities will be fully ADA compliant. Both stations will remain open during
construction, with no disruption to customers or service on the Broad Street
Line.

 

SEPTA is embarking on a
total of 32 projects with $191 million in federal grants under the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. These "shovel-ready" initiatives are
supporting local jobs and helping stimulate economic development, while
allowing SEPTA to address a number of long-needed infrastructure improvements.

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