SEPTA General Manager Joseph M. Casey was joined by a host of local officials and dignitaries on Thursday, April 29, 2010, to celebrate the completion of rehabilitation work at the North Philadelphia Station on the Broad Street Line.

And, while this ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the end of construction, it also opens a new chapter for SEPTA and the future of the community the station serves. While the $17.7 million project has completely modernized this historic facility, the ultimate goal of this initiative goes far beyond the state-of-the-art amenities now available to customers.

As a Livable Communities Initiative, SEPTA embarked on this project with the big-picture concept of improving transportation’s critical link to creating vibrant communities. With a revitalized transportation hub at its center, SEPTA believes the groundwork has been laid to encourage growth and development around the North Philadelphia Station.

“SEPTA is a proud member of this community, and we hope our investment at this station will inspire others to share in our vision for the future,” GM Casey said.

Several facets of the project focused on turning the station into a point of neighborhood pride. There are improvements to the streetscape at Broad Street and Lehigh Avenue. Five new head houses were added and new street-level signs installed. Station entrances and exits were overhauled for better functionality – and transformed into works of beauty through the Art in Transit Program.

The project also included the installation of three elevators and a new escalator – major components of the effort to make the facility fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Customers are also enjoying new and upgraded amenities throughout the station, such as rehabilitated platforms, lighting, signage, seating and trash containers. There is an additional customer entrance, and a new cashier booth and fare line.

The project marks the first major overhaul of the North Philadelphia Station, which opened with the launch of the Broad Street Line in 1928. With renovations complete, SEPTA looks forward to adding to the long history of service to customers and the community.