Depot renovation is on track

SANDPOINT — Years of work and negotiations between the city, BNSF Railway and Amtrak culminated Wednesday with the beginning of the Sandpoint Depot rehabilitation.

A project long in the making, the project will ensure that the depot remains the center of local rail activity well into the future. Local contractor Idagon won the bid to tackle the project. Work will end with the reopening of the Sandpoint Depot for travelers’ use hopefully by the end of the year — good news for passengers waiting for their train on a cold winter night.

“It’s going to be an exciting challenge,” said Justin Schuck of Idagon.

According to Schuck, the work begins with removing asbestos and lead paint from the historic structure, located near the City Beach across Sand Creek. Like many old structures throughout the region, the materials used in the depot are deemed a health and environmental hazard and must be removed before work can progress.

After that’s attended to, the heavy-duty work begins. The first step is to remove the depot’s damaged roof. Once that’s complete, Schuck said he and his crew will have a better idea of the work ahead.

“We don’t know a lot of (what work will be necessary) until we start pulling the roof off and looking at the brickwork,” he said.

The depot’s signature brick exterior will need plenty of attention to reclaim its structural soundness. Much of the exterior will need to be repointed — the process of renewing the joints between bricks to seal off exposure to water and other elements. In addition, the interior will require significant work, with work set to occur on the flooring and other elements like a unisex bathroom.

The work is funded through about $1 million supplied to station owner BNSF Railway by the Idaho Transportation Department as a stipulation established during Sand Creek Byway negotiations. The funds were later signed over to Amtrak to fuel the rehabilitation efforts after all parties signed off on an agreement.

Originally, the Amtrak planned to move local operations south of town. However, a group of local residents and city officials persuaded the rail organizations to come to an agreement.

With work progressing on the structure’s rehabilitation, local officials hope to see Sandpoint’s railroad legacy preserved well into the future.