RTA news

March 31, 2009

artwork available on request

Puritas Station nears groundbreaking date

CLEVELAND – Groundbreaking will be held in April for a new $9.6 million rail station at 4200 W. 150^th St. and Puritas Avenue. The station, operated by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA), is one of the first significant projects in Ohio to benefit from federal stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

Timetable:

• April 2 – Bids will be opened.
• April 7 or 21 – The RTA Board of Trustees will meet to award the bid.
• April – A groundbreaking ceremony will be held. The exact date will be announced.
• May – 18 months of construction begins
• Fall 2010 – Work will be completed.

The station – a key West Side location with direct access to I-71 and Hopkins International Airport -- will remain open throughout construction. It was built in 1966 on RTA’s Red Line. It is an important hub and connection to several RTA bus routes – #70 Bunts-West 150, #78 West 98th – Puritas and the #809 Kamm’s - Puritas Community Circulator. Station background.

The site includes 558 parking spaces. Some RTA land is leased to the National City Bank operations center and La Quinta Inn.

About 900 people board at the station daily, placing the station as one of RTA’s top five for Red Line ridership. Ridership is expected to increase when construction on the Inner Belt begins.

The new station was designed by the DeWolff Partnership Architects with strong community input from development corporations at Bellaire-Puritas and Kamm’s Corners. Features include:

• A 2,500-square foot main entrance building with a brick grand foyer and a rounded portico outlined in sandstone.
• A 30-foot tower houses two elevators for ADA access.
• A 130-foot bridge that brings passengers over the Rapid tracks to the boarding platform.
• A smaller, secondary entrance on the residential West 154^th Street.
• Public art, including a ceramic tile mosaic inside the main building by Dr. Murphy Ajayi. Functional art will include seating, lighting and fence details by a collaboration of artists.

By law, federal stimulus money must be used for capital improvements, and cannot be used for operating expenses.

FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES ONLY:

• Jerry Masek, 216-566-5211