CU showcases renovated transit facility

The project took a little less than a year to complete, with construction beginning early last fall and ending this summer, according to Carol Cruise, CU director of transit.

The east wall of the original facility at 1505 Boonville was knocked down, and about 2,000 square feet of space were added to house a break room for employees, training facilities for drivers and an outdoor passenger shelter and bus turnout, Cruise said.

“I think I would be remiss if I didn’t say these (improvements) were way overdue for our community,” said CU General Manager John Twitty at the event, noting double-digit monthly increases in ridership for the transit system. In the last year, the system is up about 218,000 riders.

The 5,200 square feet of renovated space in the existing building includes transit administrative offices and the system’s fleet management centers. Fleet management provides maintenance and storage for the transit system’s buses and other vehicles.

A $1.3 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration funded the project. FTA Regional Administrator Mokhtee Ahmad was on hand at the open house today and commented on the facility’s impressive transformation since his first visit in 1998.

Storee Construction Co. served as the project’s general contractor, and Esterly Schneider & Associates Inc. was architect.