Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, PA -
At Thursday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new $85.6 million headquarters of the Luzerne County Transportation Authority. Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo said there is one word to sum up how it all happened — collaboration.
“We have a theme going on here today,” Crocamo said. “And that theme is collaboration. This building is the exact definition of that word. This project exemplifies all that is right in government.”
Crocamo was one of several speakers at Thursday’s ceremony, marking the official opening of LCTA’s new massive 215,034 square foot headquarters at 300 South Pennsylvania Ave. — on the former site of the Murray Complex.
“The opening of the new LCTA facility marks a significant day in Luzerne County,” said LCTA Executive Director Bob Fiume. “Public transportation is a vital lifeline for countless individuals to get to work and school, go to medical appointments, go grocery shopping, enjoy recreational activities and perform many other daily tasks. Our new, modern facility underscores LCTA’s commitment to reliability, efficiency and safety. We are dedicated to connecting people with where they need to go, and this facility embodies that mission.”
Fiume said the facility has been in the works for several years, beginning with groundbreaking in December 2021.
“This state-of-the-art building will house all LCTA revenue vehicles, administrative offices and a maintenance garage,” Fiume said. “A Compressed Natural Gas, or CNG, fueling station was also built on site to fuel LCTA buses.”
Currently, LCTA has two separate locations, with fixed route operations, administration and maintenance in Kingston, and Shared Ride services in Forty-Fort.
“Across Pennsylvania, public transit is connecting people to their communities,” said Meredith Biggica, PennDOT Deputy Secretary for Multimodal Transportation. “Access to clean, safe and reliable public transit is a top priority of the Shapiro Administration, and we’re grateful to LCTA for the work they do every day to keep the people of Luzerne County moving safely. We’re proud to support this new facility that will help LCTA continue serving this community.”
Fiume said the James F. Conahan Intermodal Transportation Center on South Washington Street in downtown Wilkes-Barre will remain the hub for all LCTA buses.
Stantec was the project architect, Gannett Fleming was the construction manager, and Quandel was the general contractor.
LCTA staff will move into the new facility over the next two weeks.
Mayor George Brown of Wilkes-Barre said in 2021 when ground was broken on the facility, he wondered what the final product would eventually look like.
“Now we see what a beautiful facility we have,” Brown said. “And there will be 160 new jobs in the city. This is a great example of everyone working together and the city is proud to have built a great partnership with LCTA.”
Charles Sciandra, Chair of the LCTA board, said the building is the result of a lot of hard work between Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, and the state and federal governments to out the project together.
“It’s been a great team effort,” Sciandra said. “And we have a fantastic team here at LCTA.”
Also offering comments were Tony Tarone, Federal Transit Authority Regional Administrator out of Philadelphia, and John Lombardo, Chair of Luzerne County Council.
Elected state officials were not able to attend due to the ongoing budget discussions and voting in Harrisburg.
Also unable to attend was Secretary of Transportation Mike Carroll, a native of Avoca, who was in Washington D.C.
Crocamo called Carroll “an urban legend,” citing a recent report that he had slept in his truck for the rebuilding of the I-95 bridge.
“Secretary Carroll, we have a few bridges that need to be rebuilt, and in two weeks that would be great,” Crocamo said. “If you come here for it, we will make sure you have a more comfortable place to sleep. and we will feed you too. Seriously thank you for all you do for NEPA and especially Luzerne County.”
Crocamo said she has been traveling to various parts of Luzerne county recently, talking about how Luzerne County works.
“We work because of people like Bob Fiume and Charlie Sciandra,” Crocamo said. “These are people with a vision. This building not only will serve as a hub for transportation, but it will serve as a springboard to economic development in Luzerne County. And Luzerne County works because these people care about Luzerne County.”
Crocamo said during preparations for last year’s General Election, the county created numerous contingency plans — including using the LCTA for transportation services.
“We called Bob (Fiume) and asked if LCTA would assist if necessary,” Crocamo said. “Not a second went by and he answered ‘of course.’ So ladies and gentlemen, the people sitting around this podium are the people that make Luzerne county work. Because of you all, Luzerne county is going places.”
