Congresswoman Madeleine Dean Discusses Infrastructure Projects at Noble Station
February 11, 2022
On Friday, February 11, 2022, SEPTA joined Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, PennDOT, and other local officials at Noble Station on the West Trenton Line to discuss the replacement of Noble Bridge (Old York Road over the railroad tracks) and infrastructure projects made possible with the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
SEPTA is grateful to Secretary Gramian and her team at PennDOT for working closely with SEPTA to coordinate their work alongside our planned station accessibility project here at Noble Station.
To ensure that both projects advance seamlessly, SEPTA is moving forward with the design of the sidewalk, accessible path and ramp elements of the station project to share with PennDOT before they begin construction on the bridge.
We expect to complete design of the full project, including: full-length high-level platforms, canopies and passenger shelters, and stormwater management improvements by spring of 2024 with construction starting later that summer.
When the project is complete, Noble Station will be fully ADA accessible.
Station accessibility is a very important part of SEPTA’s capital program, and it will be one of our leading priorities in deploying our Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding.
The bipartisan infrastructure law will provide important increases in federal funding for transit that will help SEPTA address some of our most pressing infrastructure needs. We are extremely grateful to Congresswoman Dean, and the members of our Congressional delegation, for working in a bipartisan way to make these critical funds a reality.
In the first year, the bipartisan infrastructure law is expected to provide SEPTA approximately 100 million dollars in additional federal formula funds over current levels. We are eager to quickly put these funds to work for our customers and the communities we serve.
SEPTA currently faces a $4.6 billion backlog of infrastructure rehabilitation and vehicle replacement needs. Much of our infrastructure was originally built in the early 20th Century – and we even operate on bridges that were first constructed in the late 19th century. And SEPTA has the unwanted distinction of operating the oldest rail vehicle fleets in the nation
Funding in the bipartisan infrastructure bill will help us accelerate much needed repair and replacement work.
We are also excited about a number of new grant programs that were created in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, including the All Stations Accessibility Program – or ASAP – which will fund the construction of these vital accessibility projects.
The ASAP grant, for the first time, provides dedicated discretionary funding for legacy systems like SEPTA to invest in station accessibility. This program can be a game-changer for SEPTA, and we look forward to the support of our federal, state and local representatives when we submit our application later this year.
The SEPTA Board will be voting in March 2022 on an amended capital budget and we think riders and the region will be pleased by how we plan to balance critical infrastructure needs while continuing to advance early action elements of our Projects of Regional Significance, including King of Prussia Rail, Trolley Modernization and rail vehicle replacement.
