State of Good Repair Grant to Help Pay for Improvements
Dearborn, MI - Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) joined City of Ann Arbor officials today to announce $1.013 million in federal investment to go towards improvements on the City's Blake Transit Center. The federal grant will be combined with $253,250 in in state grants. The Blake Transit Center is a hub for the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA), or "The Ride," Ann Arbor's bus line which makes six million rides per year.
"I've had a lot of conversations with Ann Arbor's merchants and I know how much they rely on The Ride to bring customers to and from the city's shopping districts," Dingell said after the announcement at the Transit Center this afternoon. "The city's leadership identified a problem at the Blake Transit Center, seeing that it couldn't handle the growing number of people using buses to get around Ann Arbor. We worked together to deliver a State of Good Repair Grant grant from the Transportation Department and the State included some matching funds to get a significant chunk of needed investment for this project. This exciting new transit center will help us retain, create, and attract jobs to Washtenaw County. Employers can take comfort in knowing that their employees can get to and from work on a reliable public transportation system, and residents can be assured their families and neighbors will have somewhere safe to wait between trips. I'm pleased I could help Mayor John Hieftje and The Ride's CEO Michael Ford continue their outstanding work. I want to thank the US Transportation Department and Susan Pollay, Executive Director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority for their efforts on this important project."
The AATA reported the new facility will add a second story and will triple the amount of enclosed space from 2,000 to approximately 6,000 square feet. The Congressman is pleased to see a Michigan-based engineering and architectural firm, DLZ, will design the new Center. Construction is scheduled to start in spring 2011 with a completion target of summer 2012.
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