Claymont Regional Transportation Center

JMT served as the lead architect and engineer of record on the design-build team for the Claymont Regional Transportation Center and worked in tandem with Wagman Heavy Civil and the Delaware Transit Corporation and DOT project manager to facilitate interagency coordination and approvals for this truly multi-modal groundbreaking community asset.

Located near the border between Delaware and Pennsylvania, the $91 million transportation center opened in December 2023 and is built on the brownfield site of a demolished CitiSteel manufacturing plant. The center is also part of a larger redevelopment plan in progress around Claymont that aims to enhance the area’s economic, social, and cultural resources.

The transportation center’s role in this effort is to connect the Claymont community to job opportunities, healthcare facilities, recreational activities, and other resources in both Delaware and Pennsylvania, and to attract visitors and workers from the surrounding regions.

To facilitate this movement of people, the center serves as a multi-modal facility providing access to trains and buses as well as walking trails, the East Coast Greenway, sidewalks, and mixed-use paths for pedestrians and cyclists.

The project also aimed to address a range of capacity, safety, and accessibility issues that had plagued the old Claymont train station that previously served the region’s railway needs.

Although SEPTA has provided rail service to the area since 1991, the former station lacked sufficient parking for the approximately 1,200 passengers it served each day. The station was also deteriorating, and the platforms were built below the level of the trains’ doors and set at odd angles to the tracks, making trains difficult and dangerous to board.
To rectify the capacity issue, the design of the new Claymont Regional Transportation Center includes 870 parking spaces split between a surface lot and a three-tiered parking garage. The center’s parking areas feature electric vehicle charging stations, free air pumps, and accessible parking spaces.

A new access road was built between the Philadelphia Pike and the transportation center to accommodate increased traffic. A dedicated bus loop allows buses to bypass parking vehicles and minimize potential conflicts with pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists, improving the center’s safety. New bike and pedestrian connections along with regional wayfinding signs provide enhanced access for the additional Transit Center patrons.
In addition to expanding the center’s capacity, JMT incorporated numerous safety and accessibility features into the center’s design to empower and protect commuters and visitors.

A covered pedestrian walkway provides safe and easy access from the surface parking lot to the railway platforms, bus loading areas, and bike storage, and a similarly covered pedestrian bridge over the tracks allows travelers to reach both the northbound and southbound rail lines from the parking garage. The bridge features ADA-compliant stair towers at either end which each have two elevators–a redundancy intended to ensure at least one elevator is always accessible for all travelers.

The 630-foot-long train platforms are protected by windscreens and sit at the same height as train doors so that passengers can easily enter and exit the trains without having to step up or down or cross a significant gap. This makes the trains more accessible for all passengers, including those utilizing wheelchairs and other mobility aids.
JMT worked with Delaware Transit Corporation (DTC) to incorporate modernized technology systems that further enhance the center’s accessibility and safety.

A new information display system provides passengers in the parking garage, bus drop-off area, and train platforms with real-time arrival and departure updates, and braille buttons allow visually impaired travelers to hear an audio version of these updates.
Meanwhile, a video surveillance system installed on the platforms, in the pedestrian bridge and walkway, in the elevators, and elsewhere in the center allow staff to monitor suspicious activity and reduce risk for all travelers.

Environmental and aesthetic considerations also played significant roles in the center’s design. The center meets LEED Silver requirements while the Victorian brick design pays homage to the site’s history as a manufacturing plant. The design also incorporates architectural themes consistent with nearby residential structures and glass and sculpture artworks created by local artists.

Throughout the design and construction process, JMT worked closely with Amtrak, SEPTA, and other stakeholders to ensure that the new center met all necessary guidelines and to tackle challenges as they emerged.

One such challenge arose when Amtrak’s communications duct bank–the underground container protecting their utility and telecommunications cables–was not in the location originally specified. JMT determined its real location using hand excavation and found that it was directly in conflict with the original design for the platform foundation. To resolve the issue, JMT provided three alternative designs that met the necessary structural requirements while also providing ample access to the duct bank for maintenance purposes.

The project also encountered unexpected and unprecedented challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled for completion in 2021, the project was delayed by the materials shortage issues that impacted many industries during the height of the pandemic.

The design of the center required the relocation of more than 3,300 linear feet of a sanitary sewer interceptor pipeline; the original design replaced this interceptor with a 42” reinforced concrete pipe (RCP), but the RCP was not available during the pandemic without incurring a significant cost increase. JMT collaborated with the county to identify alternative possibilities and ultimately installed a temporary pipeline that allowed construction to continue until the RCP was finally available in 2022.

When the Claymont Regional Transportation Center opened in late 2023, it represented a significant step forward in the ongoing effort to increase the economic and cultural resources of the Claymont community. Yet the opening of the station is also just a first step in its own history, as the design-build team ensured that the station can be further developed and expanded to continue to meet the community’s growing needs.