Delaware Transit Corporation CEO John Sisson joined Delaware Transportation Secretary Nicole Majeski, Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, and other federal, state and local officials to celebrate the completion of the Claymont Transportation Center Monday.
The new $90 million transportation center will begin full service on Monday, Dec. 4, officials said.
“The opening of the Harris B. McDowell III Transportation Center is a major milestone in the continued economic redevelopment of Claymont and will serve as an important gateway for residents, businesses, and visitors to Delaware,” Delaware Gov. John Carney said in a statement. “As a proud Claymont native, I couldn’t be more pleased to help celebrate the completion of this project, and I want to thank our team at DelDOT for their hard work.”
The transportation center was funded with the help of U.S. Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Chris Coons (D-DE), and then-Congressman John Carney, who secured a $10 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant in 2016.
“This was an incredibly complex project many years in the making, and from the beginning hundreds of people from multiple agencies have been involved in this effort with the singular goal of providing Claymont with a first-class transportation center we can all be proud of,” Majeski said.
The center will help boost the region’s economy, officials said.
“The new Claymont rail station is proof of what is possible when local communities work with the state and federal government to bring our infrastructure into the 21st century and support economic development,” Sens. Carper and Coons and U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) said. “After the closing of the former Evraz steel mill, Delaware rallied behind the Claymont community to help turn economic adversity into an opportunity for redevelopment and job creation. Today, we are celebrating an important step forward in Claymont’s revitalization through the opening of this modern and accessible train station.”
The new center has more than 800 parking spaces, including 13 EV charging stations, two ADA compliant high-level covered platforms with wind screens, benches and USB charging ports, bicycle racks and repair stations, officials said.