Gateway Center in Joliet, Park-n-Ride in Plainfield to enhance Will County public transportation experience
By Marney Simon | Enterprise Staff
Suburban living may be convenient in terms of housing, retail options, and proximity to a major metropolitan area. However, one thing Will County may struggle with is public transportation.
But, changes in the area’s transport options are poised to increase mobility this year.
On April 11, the new Gateway Center opened up to travelers in Joliet, providing a new, state of the art train station for Amtrak and Metra passengers.
With the move, Amtrak service has now moved to the new site at 90 E. Jefferson St. The facility serves the Amtrak Texas Eagle and Lincoln Service trains, as well as daily Metra service on the Rock Island line to Chicago, and Monday through Friday service on Metra’s Heritage Corridor route.
Riders are pleased to see the new $51 million station open, which better accommodates those with special needs versus the track-level Amtrak depot that has been in use for the past few years.
“It will be easier for me because I do have a disability and the new facility will allow me to exit to meet my family much easier, plus my family will have an easier picking me up street side,” said Amy Edwards, a resident of downstate Edwardsville who frequently uses Amtrak to visit relatives in Joliet.
Edwards said the new state-of-the-art station allows her and others to have a better travel experience.
“The platform being level with train will really help me while exiting and entering the train, even with the step stool, it was a pretty big step for me to make, especially exiting the train when the handrail ends, and I had to depend on the conductor to hold my hand to keep my balance,” Edwards said. “Plus, the elevator will be awesome. One time I arrived and was on crutches, I had a bag and it was hard enough getting off the train, but I had to wait in the cold until my sister arrived and could get up to the platform to help me down. The new facility will definitely give people with disabilities more freedom to move around without help.”
The train station upgrade was first launched in 2010 and was constructed under the direction of the Illinois Department of Transportation. Plans to add bus service from the site were part of the original concept plan, but that service is still under discussion.
While the station’s doors are now open, some street closures remain, and the temporary Amtrak station has yet to be removed. Parking near the site also has yet to be completed. A museum is also planned for the upper floor of the new facility.
The site’s official grand opening is set for June 6.
Meanwhile, in Plainfield, work continues on the new PACE Park-n-Ride facility. The facility will accommodate a new bus depot for PACE, the suburban bus division of the Regional Transportation Authority.
The extended cold weather this spring has caused a handful of minor delays at the site, but city officials report that as of this week, the water mains and sanitary sewer system have all been completed, as well as the storm water management for the site, including the storm sewer and detention basin.
Work on Van Dyke Road, including widening and installation of a traffic signal, is slated to kick off in the next few weeks, as is construction of the shelter and restrooms.
The parking lot is expected to be completed and operational by July. The shelter is set to be done by September, as long as the weather cooperates.
The scope of the project includes a 600-space parking lot, a new stoplight and entrance drive, and a shelter with washrooms included as part of the bus depot.
The land is part of a previous purchase of 58 acres of farm land made by the village over a decade ago. The land was originally set to accommodate the now defunct Suburban Transit Access Route (STAR) Line Railway project.
The park-and-ride will utilize about 10 acres of the site. The additional acreage is expected to be developed via a public-private partnership, with flexible zoning to accommodate industrial and business uses.