Under a revised schedule, renovations at Amtrak’s William H. Gray III 30th Street station in Philadelphia are now expected to be completed in 2027, not 2025 as originally announced, the rail operator said recently of passengers Design and build contractor Gilbane Building Co. plans to use a phased approach to allow the station to remain open during the $550 million project.
Enabling works began last year and work began this month, including the closure of the south entrance until the summer of 2025.
At the time Amtrak finalized a lease and development agreement for the station in 2021, Amtrak announced that construction would begin in late 2022. However, an Amtrak spokesperson says the addition of the expansion of Amtrak’s corporate offices, plus “other market factors,” necessitated the schedule change.
The scope includes repairs and infrastructure improvements throughout the historic eight-story steel-framed building, which opened in 1933. It also includes improvements to passenger-oriented areas, such as adding dining and retail space and expand an outdoor square, as well as the modernization. operations facilities and renovation of Amtrak’s corporate offices.
Plenary Infrastructure Philadelphia is Amtrak’s development partner for the project under a P3 agreement they signed in 2021. PIP is responsible for operating and maintaining the station through 2071.
The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the plan required a “Section 106” assessment under the National Historic Preservation Act, Gilbane says. Originally built by the Pennsylvania Railroad, Amtrak says Gray 30th Street is the third-busiest station in its system, with ridership of more than 3 million passengers by 2022. The station also serves Transportation Authority passengers of Southeastern Pennsylvania (SEPTA) and NJ Transit. Amtrak last renovated the station between 1988 and 1991.
The work will be carried out while the station is operational. Shawn Carlin, senior vice president and Philadelphia business leader at Gilbane, said in a statement that Gilbane worked with its design partner, Skimore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), to develop a phased work plan focused on “minimizing the interruptions of ongoing operations”. Gilbane also issued bid packages early to handle long-term items needed for infrastructure improvements under the phased schedule, a spokesman says.
