City: Wilder

State: Vermont

ARRA Award Amount: $1.5 Million

Program: Non-Urbanized Area Formula Program

Description:

The Recovery Act is helping to fund construction of an expanded administrative/maintenance facility in Wilder, VT, to accommodate current and planned bus fleet needs for Advance Transit, the rural transit provider serving the Upper Connecticut River Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire.

The project broke ground on July 11, 2009. The current facility had originally been designed for a fleet of 14 buses and 20 employees. As a result of substantial growth in ridership, Advance Transit has since increased to 37 employees and 30 buses. The proposed expansion is based on a projected fleet size of forty buses and approximately 55 employees.

ARRA funds will support the physical expansion of the bus storage facility and rehabilitation of the existing administrative offices, which has been designed to meet LEED Silver certification requirements and will include solar collectors, rain-water re-use, and an energy efficient heating and cooling system. Advance Transit is focusing on implementing capital projects that will improve passenger experience and lower ongoing operating expenses.