Senator Charles E. Schumer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 29, 2009

SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE MORE THAN $1 MILLION IN DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FUNDING FOR REHABILITATION OF INTERMODAL STATION IN JAMESTOWN

Grant Will Be Used For Train Station Revitalization Project

Schumer, Gillibrand: Funding Will Renovate and Reconnect WNY to Its Historic Train Station and Waterfront

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) grant of $1,028,154 has been awarded to Jamestown for the Gateway Intermodal Station and Riverwalk Connector project. The grant will be used to rehabilitate an intermodal station in Jamestown.

“This is great news for the future of the historic Jamestown Train Station," said Schumer. “This much-needed project would revitalize the region and reconnect it to its waterfront. I am so glad to help bring these critical funds to the project and will continue to help in any way I can so that all of Western New York can benefit from what will be an economic shot in the arm.”

“This is a great investment for Western New York,” Senator Gillibrand said. “These federal dollars will help upgrade the intermodal station, make transportation more efficient in the area, support job creation and help get our economy back on track. I will continue working with Senator Schumer and the entire Congressional Delegation to make sure New York gets its fair share from the federal government.”

Schumer has a long history in boosting and helping the Jamestown Gateway Intermodal Station and Riverwalk Connector project. In 2008, Schumer secured a final agreement for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to be the lead agency on overseeing the development of both Gateway Train Station and the Riverwalk Connector as a single project, a decision that will save the city an estimated $325,000 and jumpstart the long-delayed project. He also secured $640,000 from the FTA to get the project underway after being stalled for three years prior.

Jamestown currently has plans for a Jamestown Gateway Intermodal Station and Visitors Center and for a Riverwalk Connector Trail. The two projects are designed to work in tandem and would fuel the long-awaited revitalization of the vacant Erie Lackawanna Railroad Station, an Art Deco landmark vacant since 1973, and reconnect the station to the Riverwalk Connector Trail now underway along the Chadakoin River, by a new pedestrian bridge over the downtown rail corridor.

According to the DOT grant, these funds will assist Jamestown in restoring an intermodal station which will provide important linkages between modes of transport for travelers in the area.

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