Posted on October, 15 2010
Boswell and Harkin Announce $10 Million for DART’s New Transit Hub:
Grant completes funding; construction can begin in spring 2011
The Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority’s new Transit Hub will receive a $10 million “TIGER II” grant from the Federal Department of Transportation, completing the $21 million funding package necessary to complete the LEED-certified project.
The news was announced today by Senator Tom Harkin, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations panel that funds transportation initiatives, and Congressman Leonard Boswell, a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The official announcement of all the nationwide awards will be made Wednesday, October 20, including an announcement event in Des Moines.
“This is an unbelievably great day for DART riders,” Polk County Supervisor Angela Connolly, chair of the DART Commission. “We’ve been working to get this important project done for a very long time. This means we can build the project from beginning to end, so it’ll be ready for customers to use as early as the fall of 2012.”
DART’s plan is to complete the blueprints by year’s end, bid the project out in early 2011 and break ground in the spring. Construction is expected to take 18 to 20 months.
The new Transit Hub, south of Cherry Street between 6th Avenue and 7th Street, will replace the transit mall along Walnut Street, which was identified in the “What’s Next, Downtown?” plan for redevelopment. The Transit Hub will give DART customers better amenities and its location is ideally located adjacent to the rail line that may someday bring Amtrak passenger rail service back to Des Moines.
The project has been designed by substance Architecture of Des Moines for maximum sustainability and could receive as high as a Gold LEED rating. Green building elements include solar panels incorporated into the roof and geothermal wells to help power the facility.
The Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority is the public transportation provider that serves Polk County. DART operates a family of transportation services that makes getting around the Greater Des Moines area easier and more convenient. For more information about DART services, schedules, route changes, or directions to the nearest DART stop, visit our website at www.ridedart.com or call 515.283.8100.