Grow America Act

If this bill passes, there is $72 billion on the table for expansion projects, and an additional $5 billion to repair rolling stock.

Does SEPTA have any shovel-ready expansion projects that are just waiting for construction money?

.....highlights of the bill include:

$72 billion to invest in transit systems and expand transportation options. The proposal increases average transit spending by nearly 70 percent above FY 2014 enacted levels, which will enable the expansion of new projects that improve connectivity (e.g., light rail, street cars, bus rapid transit, etc.) in suburbs, fast-growing cities, small towns, and rural communities, while still maintaining existing transit systems. The GROW AMERICA Act proposes a powerful, $5.1 billion increase in investments to address public transit’s maintenance backlog to reduce bus and rail system breakdowns; create more reliable service; and stop delays that make it harder for all commuters to get to work. The proposal also includes the innovative Rapid Growth Area Transit Program, which would provide $2 billion over four years to fast growing communities for bus rapid transit and other multimodal solutions to get ahead of the challenges caused by rapid growth.

Wawa expansion is about as shovel ready as you can get.

ekt8750 wrote:Wawa expansion is about as shovel ready as you can get.

And if that happens, SEPTA will sell the naming rights of Wawa to 7-11.

ekt8750 wrote:Wawa expansion is about as shovel ready as you can get.

YUP

Assuming it does, King of Prussia may be able to ride this wave.

It's a shame there aren't more things that even got to an FTA proposal stage, that is in a realistic manor. The Boulevard extension, Navy Yard and Pennridge/Quakertown would have been good candidates also but they're years from a final proposal. Reading and CCM would be contenders if there were a logical proposal ever even seriously considered.

http://www.dot.gov/grow-america/fact-sheets/transit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Looks like they are using SEPTA as one of the poster children.

He was quoted in the committee hearings that many parts of SEPTA have outlived their useful lives, and without funding, they can't fix the infrastructure. Many projects are ready to go, but are waiting for funding

Poster children for the maintenance/replace-in-kind aspect.

I doubt I will live to see the day SEPTA becomes the poster child for service expansion, and I'm only in my mid 20s.

I hope SEPTA is one of the transit agencies on this act. They could definitely use the money to expand something and somewhere. Wawa , West Chester, Quakertown, just somethings I'm throwing out there. There isnt any reason why SEPTA should not get that money.

sammy2009 wrote:I hope SEPTA is one of the transit agencies on this act. They could definitely use the money to expand something and somewhere. Wawa , West Chester, Quakertown, just somethings I'm throwing out there. There isnt any reason why SEPTA should not get that money.

SEPTA is on record loudly as saying no expansion till they fix what they have.

Clearfield wrote:

sammy2009 wrote:I hope SEPTA is one of the transit agencies on this act. They could definitely use the money to expand something and somewhere. Wawa , West Chester, Quakertown, just somethings I'm throwing out there. There isnt any reason why SEPTA should not get that money.

SEPTA is on record loudly as saying no expansion till they fix what they have.

True, you are right about that one. But if this money gives them way extra extra they wouldn't find a way to conduct their little studies or anything ? lol I mean The name (SEP...Southeastern Pennsylvania) Quakertown, and West Chester fall in the area...but ahhh....SEPTA will do what they want anyway right ?

sammy2009 wrote:SEPTA will do what they want anyway right ?

ALL eyes are on SEPTA. They're not going to do anything deliberately that gets them on the front page of the paper in a negative light. Stupid still thrives in 1234 but my personal feeling knowing the players is that senior management is outstanding under this current regime. I'm sure I'll take heat for that, but so be it. Opinions are like...............

they could finish the Keystone corridor improvement plan that was put on hold in 2006 which would involve replacing bryn mawr (SEPTA wants to move it to villanova I think) but more importantly, reworking zoo to overbrook, replacing Paoli, and virtually every interlocking on the line. PennDOT received a grant a few years back to complete the "necessary" studies which should be done by now. it's not solely SEPTA but obviously it would impact SEPTA's operations significantly.
Presumably they work start work on rehabbing the center city bridges right away. while I'd love to see expansion, if they can chip away at the back log faster that should, in theory, mean we'll see half hourly service to norristown sooner and SEPTA will have fewer excuses not to pursue quakertown and west chester. I'm not sure KoP is shovel ready. presumably quakertown could be put together rather quickly since it's existing right of way.

SEPTA might also opt to apply for city hall station but I dont know if engineering work has been done for that. one thing that is not exciting but would be nice to see is SEPTA finish the ADA stations on the rapid transit lines. specifically erie, snider, tasker morris, 40th st. jenkintown high levels should also be a high priority

I agree with the above poster. If SEPTA could get some "manna from heaven" to help them knock off some of the larger, more necessary backlog of system improvements/stabilization, then they would presumably have less excuses to defer/ignore expansion (or, more applicably, restoration) projects. Of course they might instead choose to plate their stations in gold instead of expanding at that point.

I certainly don't understand how, after 35 years, the only two projects that are close to shovel-ready are a lousy 3-mile restoration to Wawa and an extremely expensive project to KOP, of which few details have yet to be hammered.

It would seem that along with Quakertown and WC, Pottstown could be put together quickly, no, since that's been studied 800 times already and the rail infrastructure is already there.

BPP1999 wrote:... the only two projects that are close to shovel-ready are a lousy 3-mile restoration to Wawa and an extremely expensive project to KOP, of which few details have yet to be hammered....

I'm not qualified to comment on Wawa but I've been following the KoP extension throughout its many decades of ups and downs. It's got a long way to go but is now much farther along than you may see. First, the costs of new equipment have already been sunk into 2 dozen-plus N5 cars and rehabbing of an additional substation. All of that was done intentionally in anticipation of the extension being built some years ago, so yes there's a risk that the N5s could wear out before rails arrive at the Mall Everyone admits that ROW acquisition may not be peanuts but at least rolling stock and power are already in place. Second, Phase 1 route studies are complete and have been pared down to 3 possible trunks. It remains to examine cost-benefit ratios of the final branch routings but again, almost half the battle's been won.

The one caveat in all of this is of course that K of P or any extension for that matter involves getting SEPTA and Pennsyltucky to move forward in a coordinated, rational way.

It may help everybody to read up on the Current Initiative, link to the railroad brief is as follows:
http://www.dot.gov/grow-america/by-mode/railroads" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The entire program is outlined in a series of links

PTC and western US rail renewal are hot topics, roadway bridges and highway infrastructure have a high hot button in congress. Transportation responses for Indian Reservations has been added by a group of Western US persons. I have sat through a number of hearings and planning sessions to get a gander of who is making the strongest power play. The first in line with a proposal goes to the head of the line until knocked out by a stronger player.

As a side note ..does not help the cause to use the term Pennsyltucky, perhaps we can use "our fine brethren to the west and north". People have a way of using the Philly tude against our issues