PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — SEPTA broke ground on Thursday to begin construction of a massive expansion of its tiny Wissahickon Transportation Center.
The center, at the intersection of Ridge Avenue and Kelly Drive, is currently just big enough for a single bus to pull in and loop around before passengers board.
"When they make the turn, it's literally too crowded," a rider told KYW Newsradio. "If it's opened up, it would be better — like up at Olney Avenue. Theirs is nice!"
Mayor Jim Kenney joined SEPTA leaders at a ceremonial groundbreaking for the $45 million center, on a nearly four-acre site next to the existing center on Ridge Avenue.
Eleven bus routes currently use the Wissahickon Transportation Center, said SEPTA general manager Leslie Richards.
The Wissahickon Transportation Center, as it currently exists, is just big enough for a single bus to pull in and loop around before passengers board.Mike DeNardo/KYW Newsradio
A rendering of the expanded Wissahickon Transportation CenterSEPTA
The renovated and expanded Wissahickon Transportation Center will have larger, ADA-compliant boarding areas for passengers and break rooms and restrooms for bus operators.SEPTA
"We didn't even have enough room for all of our buses to turn around. Some of our buses had to pick up riders as well as drop them off right on Ridge. And this is a very busy street," she said. "This project is going to bring overall safety, as well as get people to where they need to go."
Despite its small size, the Wissahickon Transportation Center serves about 7,000 riders each day, Richards said.
The new center will have larger, ADA-compliant boarding areas as well as break rooms and restrooms for bus operators, Richards said. "Several of our bus routes right now don't have appropriate restroom facilities for our operators," she said.
Construction is expected to be completed in 2025.
