City to get $250K for transit station

The California Department of Transportation recently announced it will provide about $250,000 to help fund the construction of the proposed Intermodal Transportation Center in downtown.

The funding was part of the $97 million that Caltrans had recently awarded to 152 statewide projects as part of its Low Carbon Transit Operations Program.

The $250,000 award to the Imperial County Transportation Commission will supplement the $559,000 already committed for the intermodal center’s design phase that recently got underway, said ICTC Executive Director Mark Baza.

The Caltrans program aims to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the sustainability of public transportation systems around the state, a Caltrans press release stated. More than 130 projects, totaling $87 million, will specifically benefit the disadvantaged and low-income communities.

The city’s proposed $10 million intermodal center would consolidate public and private transportation providers in one facility, facilitate the expansion of public transit, and accommodate zero-emission buses.

Its amenities would include a Greyhound bus ticketing and passenger office, Greyhound bus customer parking, on-site passenger pick-up and drop-off parking, information kiosks, four Imperial Valley Transit bus bays, three private shuttle bays, bicycle storage, and separation of general auto and professional driver lanes.

The center’s design phase and right-of-way acquisition is expected to be completed in summer 2019, Baza said. ICTC and the city of Calexico have partnered to pursue additional grants toward the center’s construction.