With federal grant, SEPTA plans $37M subway improvement project

The project will see a full renovation of 30th street station

By Anna Merriman@Anna_Merriman Dec 7, 2018, 3:56pm EST

A view of the new station from the south east side of 30th Street

A $15 million federal grant awarded to SEPTA this week will allow the transit authority to complete a large-scale improvement project to the 30th Street Station subway stop, according to officials.

The project, which they predict will cost about $37 million, will see SEPTA build a new station head house, granite stairs, a ramp to Drexel Square, new elevators, escalators to get between the street and the mezzanine, and more. The whole project aims to improve the station in the face of growing ridership, SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said Friday. When the project is completed in 2021, renderings show that it will look almost entirely different from the station now.

SEPTA’s capital budget fund is providing $22 million, and Brandywine Realty Trust is putting forward another $2 million toward the improvements, SEPTA said Friday. But the federal BUILD grant, which was awarded to SEPTA by the US Department of Transportation Thursday was the last piece of funding the transit authority needed to secure before beginning the project next year.

Senators Pat Toomey and Bob Casey both supported SEPTA’s application for the funding, and released a joint statement Thursday, congratulating Philly on its win.

“This grant will finance improvements that makes travel in the city easier for millions of commuters and visitors, and help to accommodate increased traffic from the Schuylkill Yards project,” Toomey said.

The project comes alongside another, massive improvement project to Amtrak 30th Street Station, which was unveiled last year. The $6 billion project will revamp the iconic station, bringing new bike spots, pedestrian-friendly areas, urban rooms, and—importantly for SEPTA riders—an underground concourse connecting the subway station with the Amtrak station.

While the two projects aren’t connected, they will certainly benefit from each other, according to SEPTA.

“BUILD Grant funding will allow SEPTA to modernize 30^th Street Station to better accommodate current ridership demand and meet future growth,” said SEPTA Chairman Pasquale T. Deon, Sr. He added that the project will also, “create a transit gateway for the bold development planned for the growing area.”

Check out more renderings of the subway station improvements below.