NIAGARA FALLS -- Public officials from all levels of government praised plans for a proposed intermodal transportation center during a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday at the old U.S. Customshouse at 2245 Whirlpool Street.

The officials' comments were long on hopes and dreams for a modern transportation center with high-speed passenger railroad service there, but short on specific details about construction and financing.

The city's senior planner, Tom DeSantis, said the latest estimate of the project's cost is about $44.5 million.

"While this seems an unattainable amount, only $19 million in federal funding of the total remains unobligated," he said in a project overview distributed at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Both the state Department of Transportation and the Niagara Falls city administration submitted applications to the federal government this month for the remaining $19,970,720 to complete the funding.

"Final design will continue, as will the negotiations concerning final agreements with project stakeholders for station occupancy and operations," DeSantis wrote.

The project schedule calls for securing the funding, operational and partnership commitments and acquiring the site and rights of way by the end of next year and the completion of construction in 2012 or 2013.

The proposed transportation center is called "intermodal" because it is intended to serve not only railroad passengers, but also automobiles, buses, tourist trolleys, bicycles and pedestrians.

Nearby streets will be regraded and reconstructed, including new sidewalks, curbs, storm drainage, streetlighting and pavement markings.

The U.S. Customshouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a 2 1/2 story building constructed of native Lewiston limestone. The building, now owned by the City of Niagara Falls, has not been used since the early 2000s, when it was occupied by private offices, DeSantis said.

The building is projected to house Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection operations on the second floor, with heritage interpretation public-uses on the first floor. An addition to the building will house the Amtrak railroad passenger station, with ticketing counters, and it will be the primary security checkpoint for passengers arriving and leaving from the platform.

Mayor Paul A. Dyster said the building was constructed in 1863 and purchased by the federal government in 1867. It served as the U.S. Customs Office, except for short periods of commercial use, from 1867 through the 1980s. It also served as a post office from 1869 through 1906.

When the renovation is completed, the current Amtrak passenger station in a former Lehigh Valley Railroad freight warehouse at the foot of 27th Street near Hyde Park Boulevard will be closed, and all operations will be moved to the new location.

In a separate project, an interpretive center about the Underground Railroad will be built on the same site. Many fugitive slaves crossed the Niagara River from Buffalo or Niagara Falls, making this their last stop in the United States.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said, "The new Amtrak station and border inspection facility will bring transportation activity, commerce to the region and lay the groundwork for broad-ased economic and job growth in the short and long term."

Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-Fairport, said the current Amtrak station "is way behind par."

Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte, D-Lewiston, said the new facilities were made possible by "new resources like casino funds, New York Power Authority relicensing funds and stimulus funds."