The downtown transit station planned for St. Paul Street in Burlington, Vt., by the Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) has been approved to move forward. CCTA has received its federal environmental permit under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The project will now proceed with more detailed design. Construction of the transit station is anticipated to begin in the fall of 2014 with a targeted opening by winter of 2015.
Sen. Patrick Leahy secured nearly $10 million in federal grants to offset the cost of constructing the facility. Leahy said “A fully functioning transit system needs a fully functioning transit hub. CCTA has cleared a major hurdle that will keep this project on time and on budget, but more importantly, gets riders one step closer to a modern transit hub in downtown Burlington.”
CCTA Board Chair, Tom Buckley, said “as our ridership continues to grow, the need for a modern facility becomes more and more crucial.”
The transit station will provide a total of 21 passenger boarding areas, ten of which will be positioned under a canopy along the center of St. Paul Street. Another eleven bays will be located along the north and south sides of Pearl Street and along the north side of Cherry Street. The station location will permit buses to operate efficiently without the need to cross the Church Street Marketplace, as is currently the case. In addition, the transit station will have a climate-controlled indoor lobby that will include ticketing, public restrooms, and comfortable seating.
