Valley Metro donates tons of bottled water following light rail testing
A critical step of any new passenger rail project is testing the train under various conditions including simulated weight. How do you simulate that weight and contribute needed resources to the community? For Valley Metro and its contractor, Stacy & Witbeck Sundt, the answer was bottled water.
With testing complete, the thousands of bottles of water – all 55 pallets, weighing approximately 66 tons – have been donated to the United Food Bank, where it will be distributed to unsheltered and homeless people during the extreme heat of the summer.
“With this donation of water, we’ve accomplished two very important things: safety testing of the new Gilbert Road Extension and helping United Food Bank support this summer’s hydration needs for people in eastern Arizona,” said Scott Smith, Valley Metro CEO.
Mesa Mayor John Giles called the donation an "incredible gesture by the contractors."
He added, “Mesa is absolutely thrilled that they chose to use bottled water instead of sand for their weight test. It’s a great idea that shows they think about how they can help the community they are working in.”
Stacy & Witbeck Sundt is building the 1.9-mile light-rail extension and crews loaded and stacked all 115,500 bottles of water by hand on four light-rail trains. After testing was complete, Food City hauled the water in three semi-trailer truckloads from Valley Metro’s Operations and Maintenance Center to United Food Bank’s warehouse in Mesa.
“This water could not have arrived at a better time,” said Dave Richins, United Food Bank president and CEO. “As the heat starts to increase so will the need of purified drinking water in our nearly 20,000 square mile service area.”
United Food Bank distributes water to numerous nonprofit organizations throughout the Valley and eastern Arizona including Paz de Cristo, Mesa United Way and A New Leaf – East Valley Men’s Shelter.
The Gilbert Road Extension will open May 18 and is expected to attract new riders and increased development opportunities in central Mesa.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
