Delaware River Port Authority, PATCO Franklin Square Station

Burns is the engineer of record for the Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) rapid transit line station in Philadelphia’s historic Franklin Square.

DRPA is restoring rail service to Old City Philadelphia with a contemporary, accessible, and architecturally vibrant overhaul of the 87-year-old Franklin Square station. Closed for nearly a half century, the reopening involves repairs to station facilities as well as replacement of critical infrastructure.

Burns revived the station’s original character, while upgrading infrastructure to a state of good repair. Enhancements include:

• Maintaining the station’s aesthetic by preserving historic wall tiles at the platform level.
• Constructing a glass headhouse to create an ADA-accessible, light-filled entrance. Structural designs required close collaboration with the architectural team as well as advanced modeling.
• Minimizing environmental impacts through a green roof system.
• Relocating a century-old, 36-inch-diameter water main from within the park to the nearby right-of-way.
• Integrating specialized electrical, mechanical, plumbing, fire protection, and technology systems, including life safety and security measures.

Burns is leading design and supporting project construction. Management tasks involve overseeing construction milestones, ensuring disruption-free operation of PATCO rail service and year-round community access to Franklin Square park. Project services include:

• Project management
• Stakeholder engagement
• Construction administration
• Structural engineering
• Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection engineering
• Communications, technology and life safety designs

Burns previously assisted DRPA to secure federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant funding.

The Franklin Square station is scheduled to reopen in 2024.

Renderings Courtesy of Sowinski Sullivan Architects