CU to cut the ribbon on downtown bus station

A decade in the making, City Utilities is scheduled to cut the ribbon on its new downtown bus transfer station at Main Avenue and College Street.

The Springfield utility provider scheduled a 10 a.m. May 6 ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by an open house that evening during First Friday Art Walk. The transit center is then set to become operational with its limited weekend service on May 8, followed by a May 9 opening with all of its buses for weekday service.

DeWitt & Associates Inc. led construction work on the $4.4 million, 5,859-square-foot center at 211 N. Main Ave. designed by H Design Group LLC.

CU spokesman Joel Alexander said the Federal Transit Administration has contributed $3.6 million to the project since the Springfield utility provider began seeking a replacement site for its current downtown station in 2006. The McDaniel Street and Patton Avenue center has been in use for nearly 30 years, he said.

“We’re delighted to have this to offer to not only our transit customers but the community itself. This new one will far exceed the opportunities that we have to serve our customers,” Alexander said.

The new station is designed to accommodate a larger fleet of buses and eliminate pedestrian crossings in front of drivers.

CU’s governing board, the Board of Public Utilities, approved the purchase of the 2.7-acre site in October 2012, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

CU plans to accept bids for purchase on the current station after ironing out the details of the process complicated by FTA funding involved in the bus center, Alexander said. The CU board will begin discussing the sales process during its next few meetings.

“We’ll have to abide by what the FTA says we need to do,” he said.