SEPTA channels stimulus funding

February 25, 2009

John M. Roman, Delaware County Daily Times

SEPTA officials said they expect to receive bids by March and begin work by May on 28 projects financed by $193 million in funds under the new federal stimulus package.

About $44 million will be used for projects in Delaware County, including renovations on the Media Route 101 and Sharon Hill Route 102 trolley lines, R3 Media-Elwyn Regional Rail line and 69th Street Terminal, among others.

Assistant General Manager Jeff Knueppel, in charge of engineering, maintenance and construction, said he expects most projects will be under way in about four months.

The stimulus funds will go for things like refurbishing subway stations, renovating regional rail stations, installing new track and signals and the purchase of 40 new hybrid buses.

SEPTA General Manager Joseph M. Casey said Tuesday, “SEPTA has an additional $300 million in projects ready to go should there be additional stimulus dollars available.

“We are currently reviewing other programs included in the overall stimulus program other than transit to determine if any of our projects could qualify.”

According to the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, Greater Philadelphia will likely receive more than $600 million from the $48.1 billion in transportation stimulus funds, including $193 million for SEPTA, about $318 million for highways in southeastern Pennsylvania and $120 million for highways in southern New Jersey.

“The stimulus package will not blaze any new trails, but it is an opportunity for the region to play catch-up and look to the future on better footing,” the Economy League said.

Transportation infrastructure will receive $48.1 billion or about 6 percent of the total $787 billion package signed into law by President Obama Feb. 17, according to the Economy League. More than half, or $27.5 billion, will be used for highway improvements. About $8.4 billion will be used for public transit improvements, while $1.3 billion will be utilized for Amtrak capital improvements and $1.3 billion for aviation.

The final bill also included a new provision of $8 billion for capital investments in designated high-speed rail corridors.

For regional transit, SEPTA has requested $478 million for systemwide renewal projects.

The most expensive items are: $41 million for rehabilitating a bridge on the Route 100 Norristown High-Speed Line; $37 million for a new audio-visual public address system on the regional rail and suburban high-speed lines; $36 million for renovating the Spring Garden and Girard Avenue stations on the Broad Street Subway; and $34 million for a new substation on the R3 West Trenton Line, according to the Economy League.

The Delaware River Port Authority, which owns/operates four bridges across the Delaware River, has also requested $176 million, mostly for replacing PATCO’s existing car fleet.

Of the total $27.5 billion in highway stimulus funds to be distributed to states by the Federal Highway Administration, Pennsylvania will receive slightly more than $1 billion.

As the largest transit agency in the state, SEPTA accounts for about 75 percent of all Pennsylvania transit trips.

Thomas E. Babcock of Springfield, one of two members on the SEPTA board representing Delaware County, said the agency originally put together a list of $400 million in projects based on information from legislators and legislative consultants, but kept paring it down, not knowing exactly how much public transit would receive.

“We just kept paring down the list and got it down to the projects that required attention for a long time, such as the Route 101 and Route 102 trolley lines,” Babcock said.

The projects had to be “shovel ready” within 180 days, he said.

“And knowing this was going to happen, the board was proactive and awarded general engineering contracts two months in anticipation of this,” he said, adding that he was happy they were able to secure the funding for the county. “It’s a good list. It’s going to create jobs.”

The SEPTA board will vote on the projects at 3 p.m. Thursday at SEPTA headquarters.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2009/02/25/news/doc49a4c4c5908c9238426612.txt