Congress passed legislation Friday that would hand over about $6.3 million to improve Lansing transportation.
The bill gives the city $3.33 million for reconstruction of the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge, $750,000 for the Intelligent Transportation System and $2.25 million for Capital Area Transportation Authority.
If the bill passes the Senate and is signed into law by President Bush, CATA’s portion of the money will be used to buy new buses, update equipment and fix fare boxes onboard.
“We are very pleased,” said Brad Funkhouser, director of service development for CATA. “This is a huge amount of money and in the past we haven’t fared so well.”
CATA also plans to initiate a study into facilitating a bus-only road between Harrison Avenue and Lot 89 if the money is allotted.
“That means it would look and feel like a normal road, but only buses can use it,” Funkhouser said. “It means they will be able to get across campus easily, and it will cut down on the time it would take for buses to move throughout campus.”
David Berridge, transportation engineer for Lansing, said the city would benefit from improving the CATA service.
“Their fleet is aging,” he said. “This will give them a big shot in the arm in keeping quality buses on the road and keeping maintenance costs to a minimum.”
Berridge said he is enthusiastic about securing additional money for necessary projects on Lansing streets as well.
“We hope to completely rehabilitate the Pennsylvania Bridge with this funding,” he said. “We hope to install a preemption system at all signals.
“It will have a very positive impact on the community.”
The money would allow the city to fully utilize Lansing’s Traffic Control Center. The city’s Intelligent Transportation Systems, known as ITS, controls traffic lights, making it safe for emergency vehicles to travel the city.
“I think it will save lives,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton. “We have companies all over dying to highlight and bring technology to improve transportation as we know.”
Rogers met with Lansing leaders in February and March to discuss potential projects. Since the meetings, Rogers said he worked to lobby support from fellow leaders to support the transportation package.
“I am pretty excited about this,” Rogers said. “The projects were taken locally, and it tells me that this whole system really works.”
Rogers said he expects Senate action to be taken on the bill early in the week. He said there is a “99 percent” chance the bill will be passed and signed into law.
“I think it is money well spent,” Rogers said. “The Pennsylvania Bridge is in bad need of repair. We are going to upgrade the CATA buses. ITS will save lives in Lansing, and I’m excited about that.
“Lansing was a big winner this time around.”
