Next stop: Sturtevant

Riley keeps station project on track

By Jennifer Pfaff

Twenty-six Amtrak trains pass by the Village of Sturtevant Passenger Rail Station during a typical eight-hour shift.

That doesn't offer much alone time for a construction team looking to build a pedestrian bridge across the tracks. And considering that Amtrak wasn't about to shut down its train service to make life easier on Riley Construction, the Kenosha contractor just had to make do with the time allowed.

That amounted to 90 minutes.

"We were there prepping and just waiting for that train to go by so we could start," said Paul Miller, Riley's project manager.

And when that train passed, Riley swung the bridge into place between two 40-foot stair towers. The 49-foot bridge settled in with less than 2 inches to spare on each end.

That bridge represented one of the major challenges Riley agreed to take on in building the new Sturtevant Passenger Rail Station, which commuters use to catch the Milwaukee-to-Chicago Hiawatha passenger train. The new structure is a little down the tracks from the village's Scandinavian-inspired, 1903 depot, which was showing its age and in need of replacement.

	Project Name: Village of Sturtevant Passenger Rail Station Location: Sturtevant Submitting Company: Riley Construction Co. Inc., Kenosha General Contractor: Riley Construction Co. Inc. Project Leader: Paul Miller, Riley's project manager Architect: Partners in Design Architects Inc., Kenosha Engineer: STS Consultants Ltd., Milwaukee Owner: Canadian Pacific Railway, Minneapolis Project Cost: $3.07 million Project Size: 2,100 square feet Start Date: September 2005 Completion Date: August 2006

But the decision to build a new station was as much practical as it was aesthetic.

"By 2010 all stations in the country have to be [Americans with Disabilities Act] compliant, or our Amtrak trains won't be able to stop there," said Frank Hall, project director for Amtrak. "The hope is other communities in Wisconsin will follow the lead of Sturtevant and make their stations not only ADA compliant, but also into something they can be proud of."

Sturtevant's new station might offer a more modern feel, but much of its design reflects the village's old depot. It's an octagonal corner structure with a witch's hat roof, vaulted ceilings and a walkout in the back with a barreled roof.

"This building was challenging in the coordination of the design elements," Miller said. "It doesn't show; it doesn't look complicated. It looks like a nicely done, simple building."

The new station is bright, clean and attractive, Hall said, and its ADA compliance will keep the doors open for Amtrak customers.

"Right now this is the Cadillac station in the state," he said. "It increases safety of passengers and increases ridership."