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Area transit agencies to get stimulus money
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Published: June 11, 2009
Updated: 06/11/2009 12:05 am
RALEIGH
Several transit projects in Northwest North Carolina are among 140 state transit projects that will get federal stimulus money, Gov. Bev Perdue announced yesterday.
AppalCart, which serves Watauga County with buses and vans, will get $6 million to build a 23,000-square-foot transit center that will consist of offices and a maintenance area for the agency, said Christopher Turner, the transportation director for AppalCart.
Turner estimated that the project would create 40 jobs and sustain about 300 jobs among the general contractor and subcontractors. The agency has awarded the project to McCarroll Construction Inc., a general contractor in Arden, he said.
The transit center should be completed by July 2010.
The agency also will use stimulus money to buy shelters for a bus stop on the campus of Appalachian State University and 20 bus stops in Boone.
The Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation will get $790,000 to build two park-and–ride lots in Mount Airy and Yadkinville and to pay for the engineering and design of a third lot in Randleman.
PART has bought two acres in Mount Airy for the lot there, which will have 180 spaces, said Scott Rhine, the agency's program manager. PART has one acre for Yadkinville's lot, which will have 99 spaces. The agency will submit the projects for bids, he said.
The Winston-Salem Transit Authority will get $3.8 million to replace buses and buy spare engines, transmissions, vans and fareboxes.
Other projects getting stimulus money include:
□ The Alleghany County Public Transportation program will get $38,117 to repair its leaking roof in Sparta, install a new heating/air conditioning system and maintain its 11 vehicles.
□ The Ashe County Transportation Authority Inc. will get $350,180 to buy three vehicles and equipment for its garage and to connect its office in West Jefferson to the town's water and sewer system, said Sue Thompson, the agency's director. The agency also will use the money to maintain its 18 vehicles.
□ The Yadkin Valley Economic Development District Inc. will get $491,200 to buy six vans equipped with lifts for wheelchairs and to maintain its 72 vehicles. The agency provides public transportation in Davie, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin counties.
□ The Wilkes Transportation Authority will get $122,750 to buy bus-stop signs, security cameras for its lot in North Wilkesboro, and three vans with lifts for wheelchairs.
The projects will help create and sustain jobs and "provide needed economic development and mobility in counties throughout North Carolina," Perdue said. "Not only will they put people to work, they will take people to work."
■ John Hinton can be reached at 727-7299 or atjhinton@wsjournal.com.
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