MenuUnion Station: Raleigh's Multi-Modal Transit Center
Public Information Session:
The public is invited to attend the second in a series of Public Information Sessions regarding the planning and design of the future Raleigh Union Station, May 1 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Contemporary Art Museum at 409 W. Martin Street. Free parking for the workshop is available in the surface parking lot at the end of West Martin Street. The purpose is to solicit input regarding program elements. Conceptual plans will be available for review and comments.
Raleigh Union Station is located at 510 West Martin Street, the existing Dillon Supply Company Warehouse building, also known as the Viaduct Building. Representatives from the North Carolina Department of Transportation's Rail Division, the City of Raleigh and the design team will be available to answer questions. Public comments provided at the meeting will be taken into consideration during the station design process.
The planning and construction of the new station is a joint initiative of the North Carolina Department of Transportation Rail Division and the City of Raleigh. Funding for the first stage of design is provided by a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration.
The public is also invited to learn more about the City of Raleigh's West Street Extension project. This project proposes to connect West Street across the Boylan railroad wye and close the existing at-grade crossing of the railroad at West Cabarrus Street. Maps of the two project alternatives will be available for review and project representatives will be on hand to answer questions. Public comments provided at the session will be used in the development of the project's environmental assessment. The South Street/Lenoir Street Project proposes to convert portions of Lenoir and South Streets from one-way to two-way operation, and construct other streetscape improvements.
Background
On June 22, 2012, the City of Raleigh received notice that it was successful in its bid for a grant from the USDOT to fund the first phase of the Raleigh Union Station.
The City, in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and Triangle Transit (TTA), applied for federal funding from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program in March 2012. The TIGER grant program provides a unique opportunity for the U.S. Department of Transportation to invest in road, rail, transit and port projects that promise to achieve critical national objectives. The TIGER program enables USDOT to use a rigorous process to select projects with exceptional benefits, explore ways to deliver projects faster and save on construction costs, and make investments in our Nation's infrastructure that make communities more livable and sustainable.
The Union Station Phase I project was one of 47 projects awarded a total of nearly $500 million nationwide. This phase of the project replaces the current Amtrak facility located on Cabarrus Street.
For the City of Raleigh, the $21 million award will assist with the costs associated with the first phase of construction of the multimodal transit center. As proposed in the grant application, Phase I of the project includes the construction of a new train station, multiple improvements to railroad sidings and switches along the NC Railroad corridor (Phase IA)-estimated at $60 million-and the construction of the planned West Street Extension between Morgan Street and Cabarrus Street (Phase IB)-estimated at approximately $24 million.
The City has pledged a $3 million match for construction of the station, as part of the Transportation Bond passed in October 2011. Additionally, NCDOT has pledged matching funds of $9 million and Triangle Transit has pledged an in-kind match of the building and land, conservatively estimated at approximately $1.5 million. Alternate funding sources are currently under development to allow the completion of Phase IA."
