(The followings story by Jill Schramm appeared on the Minot Daily News website on June 5, 2009.)
MINOT, N.D. — An award of federal stimulus money means that remodeling of the interior of Minot’s Amtrak depot can begin this year.
The project will be getting up to $400,000 in transportation enhancement funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Construction now will get started after having been postponed for lack of money when the exterior of the building was restored in 2008, said Dennis Lutz, chairman of the depot restoration committee.
Lutz said the committee will be hiring an architect to review existing drawings and draft a plan that modernizes the building yet retains its historical features. The remodeling will provide handicapped-accessible restrooms and better utilize space to create more room for rail passengers. The goal won’t be to restore the interior to its original 1905 appearance because times have changed.
The depot once had separate sections for men and women, a dim hallway and wooden benches. Those features won’t be back, but the restoration committee has considered wainscoting on the walls and a pressed tin ceiling to give the building the look of 1905.
Because the work is indoors, it is possible that construction would take place during the winter. Lutz said contractors should be able to arrange the work to allow use of the depot during construction.