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On November 20th, WTS Philadelphia teamed with ASHE Delaware Valley and ASCE Philadelphia to learn about the Delaware River Port Authority’s (DRPA) Franklin Square Station project, which came about due to the increased development surrounding Philadelphia's Franklin Square area.

Since its grand opening in 1936, the station, located near Seventh and Race Streets, has sporadically closed and reopened with the last period of passenger service provided between 1976 and 1979. The rehabilitated station will be fully functional, in-line with the existing Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) stations, and part of the PATCO Highspeed Line operating between Philadelphia and Lindenwold, NJ. The project is designed to address improvements to the station’s civil, structural, mechanical and electrical systems and provide access in compliance with the current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.

Tom Donnelly, P.E., Senior Principal Structural Engineer at Burns Engineering was the presenter with Erica Antoine, P.E., Project Manager at Burns Engineering moderating. Tom began by discussing and thanking the more than 20 stakeholders and designers, from more than 15 design disciplines, for their hard work in bringing this project through design and now into construction. He also stated the Main Headhouse occupies 3,200 SF while the Egress Headhouses are 250 SF each. The station itself is 37,000 SF and the project with a $29.3 million budget was 45 years in the making. Some of the main team members and stakeholders included the Old City District, the Callowhill Neighborhood Association and the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation. Some of the regulatory agencies included the PA DEP, The Philadelphia Historical Commission and PA Labor and Industry. He talked about the many construction issues encountered and addressed in the field and provided some lessons learned. He concluded by stating that the goal of the project was to re-open PATCO Franklin Square Station as a destination within the vibrant urban fabric that surrounds it. The event, which offered 1.5 PDH, was well attended as 98 people tuned into the virtual meeting!