SEPTA Breaks Ground on New Accessibility Project

SEPTA gathered with federal, state, and local officials and other stakeholders at Erie Station to break ground on a new project that will make the Broad Street Line station fully accessible and deliver modern amenities for customers.

During the event, United States Department of Transportation officials announced that the Erie Station ADA Project is the first station accessibility project in the nation to advance to construction with funding from the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP).

ASAP Funding

Co-authored by U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and enacted as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), ASAP provides funding for the nation’s oldest rail transit systems to make stations accessible to people with disabilities.

“More than 30 years after passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the infrastructure law is helping to fulfill its promise to build a more accessible world for the people of Southeastern Pennsylvania,” said Sen. Casey. “I fought for funding to make our public transit systems accessible to people with disabilities and I am not at all surprised that SEPTA is the very first in the Nation to break ground on renovations funded by my All Stations Accessibility Program.”

When completed, the $38 million project will make Erie Station fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act. Work includes the installation of a new elevator from street level to the station mezzanine and new elevators from the mezzanine to the northbound and southbound platforms.

“SEPTA is fully committed to making our vehicles and stations accessible to all, and ASAP funding is allowing us to accelerate our efforts to achieve that goal,” said SEPTA CEO/GM Leslie S. Richards. “We are grateful to our partners at the federal, state and local levels for supporting our accessibility initiatives and helping to ensure that people of all abilities can fully utilize their transit system.”

SEPTA’s Erie Station Project

The Erie Station ADA Project is one of six SEPTA station accessibility projects that will be supported by ASAP funding.

Following the passage of the BIL, SEPTA quickly amended its capital budget to initiate the design of accessibility projects at nine stations to be positioned to compete for future ASAP opportunities.

In December 2022, SEPTA was awarded $56 million through the first round of ASAP grant funding to support ADA projects at five Broad Street Line stations, including Erie, and one Market-Frankford Line station.

In addition to the new elevators, other planned improvements to the station include:

• Reconstructed cashier booth and fare lines.
• Stairway and entrance improvements and platform modifications.
• New lighting and other electrical improvements.
• Enhanced security features including ADA-compliant communications system upgrades w/emergency call boxes and HD security cameras.
• Structural improvements (mezzanine beams).
• New station architectural finishes.
• Drainage and waterproofing improvements.
• Streetscape improvements to the Broad-Germantown-Erie (BGE) triangle, in partnership with the City of Philadelphia.

The Erie Station ADA Project is scheduled to be completed in summer 2026.