Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
‘LET’S GET THIS DONE’
Gov. Wolf attends groundbreaking for Coatesville train station
COATESVILLE » Gov. Tom Wolf, along with several office holders and officials, shoveled and tossed dirt, Friday, to mark the groundbreaking for the new Coatesville train station.
Wolf noted that he is a longterm user of Amtrak’s Keystone Corridor. He said that the Coatesville station will meet the needs of the 21st Century and improve equity as well as accessibility.
The governor supports President Joe Biden’s proposed infrastructure bill and its major impact on public transportation.
“We need to invest all over the board,” Wolf said. “Let’s get this done.”
Lancaster company Wickersham Construction and Engineering Inc. won the general work contract with a bid of $38.5 million, as part of the proposed $65 million station, at the intersection of 4th Avenue and Fleetwood Street.
The target date for completion is the fall of 2025. The station will feature two platforms, at 536 feet each, and elevators. A pedestrian tunnel will connect one side to the other.
Fleetwood Street will be relocated.
Several speakers noted that the station will be 100 percent ADA compliant. Speakers at the groundbreaking hope that the station will spark commercial and residential development.
Coatesville contractor G.A. Vietri Inc., led by President Greg Vietri, will perform the electrical work.
A 320-space parking garage will be built with monies from the PennDOT Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, the City of Coatesville, the Chester County Community Revitalization Program, and the Pennsylvania DCED. The $13 million garage is not yet fully funded.
State Rep. Dan Williams, D74th of Sadsbury, joyfully anticipates the new station.
“It is not merely an investment in brick and mortar, but an investment in people,” Williams said. “It gives hope and opportunity to change the narrative.”
State Sen. Carolyn Comitta, D-19th of West Chester, told the audience of about 120 well-wishers that partnerships are key.
“The station will be accessible to all, open to all and a catalyst for revitalization,” Comitta said.
State Rep. Tim Hennessey, R-26th, of North Coventry said that Friday was a “big, big day” for Coatesville. He talked about the long journey prior to the groundbreaking.
He spoke of studies, financial woes, changes in administrations, environmental requirements, changing ADA designs and even a move of location.
“We’ve weathered every storm,” the representative said.
Twenty-five years since the last station closed, Chair of the Chester County Board of Commissioners Marian Moskowitz quipped that it’s been a “long ride with a lot of people on board this train.”
She also said that Coatesville revitalization is vital to the success of the entire county.
Coatesville City Council President Linda LavenderNorris noted that the train still stops in Coatesville and that the city is blessed with the construction.
She compared the timely process to a baby being born, then attending college and finally, on Friday, that baby graduating.
Justin Chan, of the Western Chester County Chamber of Commerce, said that the changes will allow for affordable transportation, reduce congestion on the Route 30 Bypass, increase property values and improve the quality of life.
Jenny Louwerse, deputy secretary of Multimodal Transportation, with the PA Department of Transportation, said to look at the total package. Trains will not just move people, but the project is an impetus for job creation and development.
Diana Lopez is a senior advisor to the administrator at the Federal Railroad Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“This is a real option for our citizens,” she said.
Secretary of Transportation for PennDOT Yassmin Gramian said that the new station will become a vital economic engine to revitalize the surrounding communities.
“This is a reminder that these investments are needed and they work,” she said about the federal, state and local partnership.