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USDOT Awards $343ML to Upgrade Rail Transit Accessibility
May 30, 2024
The FTA issued $343 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to upgrade platforms, construct new ramps and elevators, and enhance wayfinding technology.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced this week that eight transit systems in eight states will receive $343 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to retrofit some of the nation's oldest and busiest rail transit stations, part of the effort to finally bring the entire U.S. transit network into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The ADA was passed into law in 1990 and marked a seminal milestone in recognizing the rights of passengers with disabilities. The ADA included accessibility specifications for new-build stations and railcars, and required retrofits to rail systems built before the law came into effect, known as “legacy systems”. To this day, more than 900 transit legacy stations don’t meet the requirements for full compliance.
This week’s announcement focused funding on these legacy rail transit systems, funding projects that will upgrade station platforms, add ramps and elevators, upgrade audio and visual wayfinding technology, and construct new pedestrian tunnels and pathways to connecting services.
"We are not only modernizing our nation’s infrastructure, we are doing so in a way that makes it more accessible for older Americans, people with disabilities, and all transit users," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "This initiative, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is retrofitting old rail stations with elevators, ramps, and more, to make sure that our public transportation is more accessible for millions of Americans going about their daily lives."
A list of all eight projects, along with the FTA's project descriptions, is included below.
|
State |
Project Sponsor |
Project Description |
Funding |
|
CT |
Connecticut Department of Transportation |
The Connecticut Department of Transportation will receive funding to retrofit three stations on its Metro-North Railroad Waterbury Branch commuter rail line, which provides service to New York City, to make them fully accessible to passengers with disabilities. Improvements to the century-old stations include building a high-level rail platform and installing handrails, which will provide more equitable service and increase access to jobs. |
$29,600,000 |
|
IL |
Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation |
The Commuter Rail Division of the Regional Transportation Authority, or Metra, will receive funding to improve its 95th Street-Chicago State University station to make it fully ADA accessible, allowing safe and convenient travel. Improvements to the station, built in the 1920s, will include installing elevators, reconstructing the platform, adding a pedestrian tunnel and pathways to transit connections, and replacing audio and visual communication displays for ADA accessibility. |
$29,000,000 |
|
IL |
Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation |
The Commuter Rail Division of the Regional Transportation Authority, or Metra, will receive funding to improve its 59th/60th Street Station on the Metra Electric line to improve accessibility and accommodate new riders from the University of Chicago expansion. Improvements will include a reconstruction of the existing street-level entrances and station platform enhancements. |
$37,600,000 |
|
IL |
Chicago Transit Authority |
The Chicago Transit Authority will receive funding to modernize its Irving Park, Belmont and Pulaski stations to make them fully ADA accessible and provide safe and convenient travel to all users. Built more than 50 years ago, the stations will be modernized with elevators, ramp upgrades, improved station signage and other station enhancements. |
$118,480,000 |
|
MA |
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will receive funding to retrofit an 80-year-old light rail station with elevators, improved pathways and lighting features, and raised platforms for accessible boarding. Improvements to the Symphony station, located at the crossroads of some of Boston's busiest neighborhoods, will make the station fully accessible for people with disabilities, seniors and others, many of whom live in nearby senior residential buildings and an assisted living center. |
$66,602,931 |
|
MD |
Maryland Department of Transportation/Maryland Transit Administration |
The Maryland Transit Administration will receive funding to develop plans and complete environmental work for the future renovation of the Martin Airport station on its Penn commuter rail line to make it safer and fully accessible. The station, located north of Baltimore requires riders to cross multiple tracks to board the train. |
$7,109,500 |
|
NJ |
New Jersey Transit Corporation |
The New Jersey Transit Corporation will receive funding to improve accessibility at the Anderson St-Hackensack and New Bridge Landing stations on the Pascack Valley Line, allowing safe and accessible transit for all riders traveling between northern New Jersey and southern New York. Improvements include replacing low-level platforms with higher platforms, building fully accessible ramps, installing tactile warning strips, adding accessible parking spaces and inclusive wayfinding technology and upgrading the communications system. |
$18,187,378 |
|
NJ |
New Jersey Transit Corporation |
The New Jersey Transit Corporation will receive funding to study and design new platforms at two stations on the Morristown Line that are not ADA accessible because of geographical challenges. NJ Transit will develop new designs for its Chatham and Orange Stations along with implementation strategies and apply the recommendations from this study to other inaccessible stations. |
$1,400,000 |
|
NJ |
New Jersey Transit Corporation |
The New Jersey Transit Corporation will receive funding to improve accessibility at the Bradley Beach station on the North Jersey Coast Line, which connects New York Penn Station, Newark, and communities along the northern portion of the Jersey Shore. The improvements, which will allow for safe and accessible travel, include replacing low-level platforms with higher ones, building fully accessible ramps, installing tactile warning strips, adding accessible parking spaces and inclusive wayfinding technology and upgrading the communications system. |
$14,513,743 |
|
NY |
Metropolitan Transportation Authority |
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will receive funding to make its Myrtle Avenue, Norwood Avenue and Avenue I subway stations in Brooklyn and the Burnside Avenue subway station in the Bronx fully ADA accessible, allowing safe and convenient travel to and through the stations. Modernization work will include installing elevators, updating platforms to reduce gaps, adding tactile platform edge warning strips, modifying fare gates, stairs, and improving handrails. |
$254,466,278 |
|
NY |
Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation |
The Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) Corporation will receive funding to study four stations (Christopher St., 9th St., 14th St., and 23rd St.) in Manhattan built in the early 20th century and assess what upgrades and alterations are needed to bring them into alignment with ADA standards. These stations currently do not have any elevators to enter or exit the mezzanine area or the station platform. |
$1,590,170 |
|
OH |
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority |
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority will receive funding to make its East 79th Street light rail station fully ADA accessible, allowing safe and convenient travel. Modernization work at the station, which was built in the 1920s, will include installing ramps, concrete platforms, rail crossings, warning panels, canopy-covered concrete stairs, upgraded emergency call boxes, and slip-resistant walking surfaces. |
$8,000,000 |
|
PA |
Pittsburgh Regional Transit |
Pittsburgh Regional Transit will receive funding to make the Bethel Village, Westfield, St. Anne's, and Shiras stations on PRT's Red Line ADA accessible, providing safe and convenient access to downtown Pittsburgh, Castle Shannon Borough, and the Municipality of Bethel Park. Station improvements will include installing a high platform for level boarding, shelters on the boarding platform, ramps, accessible signage and auditory support. |
$28,400,000 |
|
PA |
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority |
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority will receive $56 million to make its 11th Street subway station on the Market-Frankford Subway Line and the Chinatown, Erie, Fairmount Upper Level, Fairmount Lower Level and Snyder stations on the Broad Street Subway Line fully ADA accessible, allowing safe and convenient travel. Modernization work at the stations, which were built in the early 20th century, will include installing elevators, general station upgrades, ramps, and making path of travel improvements. |
$56,050,000 |
|
WA |
City of Seattle |
The City of Seattle will receive funding to make its Seattle Center Monorail Station fully ADA accessible, allowing safe and convenient travel. Modernization work at the station, which was built in the 1960s, will include installing ramps, making path of travel improvements for individuals with mobility devices and other station upgrades. |
$15,000,000 |
"The National Association of Railroad Passengers has done yeoman work over the years and in fact if it weren’t for NARP, I'd be surprised if Amtrak were still in possession of as a large a network as they have. So they've done good work, they're very good on the factual case."
Robert Gallamore, Director of Transportation Center at Northwestern University and former Federal Railroad Administration official, Director of Transportation Center at Northwestern University
November 17, 2005, on The Leonard Lopate Show (with guest host Chris Bannon), WNYC New York.
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