page_title: Pontiac Transportation Center
section_title: Original building
hierarchical_section_title: Pontiac Transportation Center / History / Original building
caption_attribution_description: English: The former Amtrak station in Pontiac, Michigan from 1983-2008 (demolished in 2008).
context_page_description: The Pontiac Transportation Center is an intermodal terminal station located in Pontiac, Michigan that is served by Amtrak's Michigan Services Wolverine. The transportation center is also served by Indian Trails intercity bus service and Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation regional bus service.
context_section_description: Construction of the original Pontiac Transportation Center began in the late 1970s, funded by a US$3 million (equivalent to $10,600,000 in 2019) loan from the MDOT, and the new facility was opened in May 1983, serving both buses and a commuter rail service to Detroit. The address provided by Amtrak for the facility was 1600 Wide Track Circle.
  The facility was a two-story building, with the first story constructed of scored concrete and the second of brick veneer. Original plans called for a restaurant to be built on the second floor. A small glass-covered pavilion was also built into the structure.
  Upon completion, the facility was initially served by SEMTA's Silver Streak, with service to Detroit (with the next eastbound stop being in Bloomfield Hills). Within six months of completion, however, the SEMTA commuter rail service was canceled, leaving the transportation center to serve only three buses a day. In addition, by 1985 structural deficiencies were already apparent, with interior surfaces showing water damage. In 1991, a pedestrian bridge between the transportation center and an office building across the street was opened, though it was closed within two years due to lack of use. Amtrak began serving the facility with its Wolverine service in 1994.
  In 2002, it was announced that the building was suffering from substandard construction, and city officials said that it should be demolished. In 2005, the city and the MDOT signed an agreement whereby the building would be transferred to the MDOT, which would take responsibility for demolishing it and constructing a replacement, and the construction loan, never paid back by the city, would be written off. In summer 2008, demolition began on the station building, with the skywalk to follow; the demolition project, estimated to cost $400,000, was to be completed by the end of the year. A temporary station was erected on site that served Amtrak customers for the next three years until the replacement transportation center was completed.
caption: The former transportation center building in 2002
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