Amtrak Invests In Wolf Point Station
Amtrak officials were in Wolf Point on Monday, Nov. 15, to review the $4 million completed project at the train station.
“We benefited the local economy directly by this construction project, now completed, which was funded by the federal appropriation to Amtrak to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Marc Magliari, Amtrak media relations, said.
Magliari explained while in Wolf Point on Monday that similar projects have been completed in Shelby and Grand Forks, N.D.
“We’re proud of the work we’ve done here,” he said. “We’re proud of our role in Montana.”
The project included: * Demolition of the concrete platform. Replacing in kind with an ADA-compliant, 650-foot long, 12-foot wide concrete platform. Upgrades on the platform featured new signage, lighting and the relocation of a wheelchair lift enclosure.
* Exterior improvements around the station building including upgrades to the accessible parking area, connection to the public street and ADA-compliant walkways between the parking and station building.
* Interior work consisted of new entry door accessibilities with automatic door openers to and from the station.
* Men and women restroom upgrades for ADA compliance.
* Minor modifications to the lobby including new seating layout and adjustments to fire pull stations for ADA compliance.
Granite Construction was the contractor for the project. Area subcontractors/vendors included Build Pro, Wolf Point Sand & Gravel, North Country Pumping, Farmers Union Lumber and Agland Coop.
Magliari said that ridership on the Empire Builder prior to COVID was 4,603 passengers from October 2018 through September 2019. After a tough COVID year, ridership bounced back to 2,434 in fiscal year 2021 that ended in September.
“We’ve been seeing pretty good recoveries,” Magliari said. “We expect to continue to increase ridership.”
With additional infrastructure funding approved, he expects similar projects to be completed in Glasgow.
Although there has been discussions about adding a southern route between Glendive and Missoula, he said that would have no impact on the current Empire Builder stops.
“We’re not about to walk away from this,” Magliari said.
