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07/15/2015 12:30 PMThe North Main Street area will move from afterthought to main event this year.
A new state train station parking lot with 199 spaces is underway and should be finished by this fall. With approvals to build a new apartment complex on North Main Street in hand, groundbreaking on this project should start this month. Now there’s one more transformation in the works: a complete renovation of the Old Saybrook train station, its site, and its associated facilities.
Town officials learned this month that the Federal Railroad Administration has agreed to fund a train station building and site renovation project as proposed by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak). Several tasks will improve the train station’s handicapped-accessibility for patrons and staff.
Anyone who has walked through the station doors in the summer knows that the heating and cooling system needs updating. Those using the crossover bridge can clearly see the rusted metal treads and deteriorating concrete steps. These are among the train station issues that the project will address.
A letter that town officials received in early July lists the elements of the Amtrak project.
“The existing stormwater management system is no longer functional and will be replaced with underground dry wells and collection piping. As part of this work, existing trees, lawn area, and asphalt paving at the perimeter of the station will be removed and replaced in kind,” the letter states.
So if you’re a commuter or long-distance traveler, don’t be surprised or dismayed if trees that once provided shade next to the station are suddenly gone. Under the Amtrak plan, those trees and lawn areas will return at the end of the project work.
Other improvements at the station building are designed to improve the handicapped-accessibility of the building’s entries. Other changes will replace existing ramps and painted steel handrails at the north, east, and west entry doors to make the entries accessible. A new painted steel guardrail and gate will replace the open pipe railing now near the basement door access area. New handicapped-accessible parking spaces will be striped near the accessible entrances and new signage will guide patrons to this station pathway.
Portions of the existing train station building ticket office wing also will be altered. In the public area, the ticket window and door to the ticket office will be changed to make them accessible to passengers and staff. New lamps will be installed. New heating and cooling equipment will be installed to replace the aging systems. The existing steam boiler and fuel oil tank in the basement will be removed.
In addition, the train station’s rubble-stone foundation will be replaced with a new concrete masonry foundation. This step will be taken to try to end the subsidence of the ground under that portion of the train station building. The brick chimney will be repaired and gutters, downspouts, and connections replaced.
A new central air-conditioning system will replace the current window air-conditioners in the building.
Both on the crossover and the platforms, sections of slabs that are deteriorating will be replaced. Rusted guardrails will be replaced. Rusted metal door and window surrounds on the crossover bridge will be replaced and rust will be removed and the steel stringers repainted. Deteriorated concrete treads will be replaced.
With plans already developed, this project is nearly ready to go out to bid, so by the end of next summer, train station patrons will be parking their cars in a new station lot and will buy their tickets and wait for trains in the newly renovated station.