An Update on the Union Station Expansion

• March 27, 2018

by Nena Perry-Brown

The redevelopment of Union Station and the surrounding blocks is slowly inching along.

The Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC), in partnership with Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration and various other entities, is making progress in drafting an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will set the tone for plans to expand the transit hub's capacity by 2040.

Expansion plans for the station would restore the building as well as the concourses, platforms and tracks that feed into the station, while improving pedestrian, bicycle, vehicular and bus flow into and out of the hub, including making the train hall accessible from H Street.

Towards that end, potential reconfigurations of Union Station have been narrowed down to five options, each with different placements for the train hall, bus terminals and parking facilities. USRC et. al are soliciting feedback for the options and plan to have the draft EIS complete at the end of 2019. The final decision on an expansion plan will be made in winter 2020; the ensuing construction will likely last 10 years.

The Hopscotch Bridge will also be replaced as part of the expansion. There is also a pending historic district nomination for Union Station and the adjacent railyard area stretching north to Florida Avenue near Third Street NE. 

Akridge and the development team for the 3 million square-foot Burnham Place is expected to start submitting more specific plans for that project after the final configuration of the Union Station expansion is decided. Construction for Burnham Place and Union Station could happen concurrently.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/an-update-on-the-union-station-expansion/13747