Erie Becomes Transportation Mecca With New $8M Hub

Thu October 24, 2002
Brenda Ruggiero

An Intermodal Transportation Complex soon will open its doors for travelers in Erie, PA.

Managed by the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority, the bayfront building will serve as a hub for passengers of Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority buses and eventually Greyhound buses.

In addition, the complex will feature services for taxicabs, cruise boats, ferryboats and even bicycles. The building includes thousands of square feet of office and retail space that Port Authority and EMTA officials hope to lease to various shops and businesses.

The approximate construction value of the project is $8 million, with funding coming from both federal and state agencies. Approximately 80 percent was supplied by the Federal Transit Administration.

The contract for the job was awarded to Erie’s Perry Construction Group, with work beginning in August 2001. Substantial completion is scheduled for July 2002.

According to Robert Doyle, president of Perry Construction, the existing site was an on-grade asphalt parking lot, which required approximately 9,000 cu. yds. (6,881 cu m) of material undercut with replacement of engineered fill.

The 56,000-sq.-ft. (5,202 sq m) building features a structural steel frame, drilled piers and grade beam foundations, masonry, and an aluminum storefront with windows. It also includes a two-story dome and a one-story dome, both topped by cupolas. A rectangular building connects the two domes.

“The only part of the project that was a challenge, outside of construction issues,” Doyle said, “was the engineering and layout of the large and small dome circular configuration.”

Specific site equipment for the job included a Caterpillar 12H grader, a Blaw-Knox PF 3200 paver, a Caterpillar D5 dozer, a Caterpillar 928 high lift, a Case 580K backhoe, a Caterpillar 320 excavator, and an IR DD24 roller.

Doyle reported that a maximum of 80 employees were working on the project. Major subcontractors included Mayer Brothers, Erie, excavation and paving; Schaal Glass, Erie, glass and glazing; Stanley Access Technology, Leechburg, PA, auto/revolving doors; Shelly Drilling, Avonmore, PA, caissons; Rick Moran Company, McKean, PA, masonry; Erie Steel Products, Erie, steel; A.W. Farrell, Erie, roofing; Steelar Elevator, Erie, elevator; PB Excavating Company, Waterford, PA, trenching; Concrete Services, Girard, PA, curbs; Arlington Lawncare-Landscaping, Erie, landscaping; and Hi-T Fence Systems, Waterford, guard rail/fence.

This story also appears on Construction Equipment Guide.