Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) joined representatives of The Rapid in Grand Rapids, MI, for the recent ribbon-cutting ceremony at the public transportation agency’s new Wealthy Operations Center, located on Wealthy Street.

The new facility houses The Rapid’s dispatch center, maintenance facilities, and training center, and provides storage for its fleet of 117 fixed route buses and the vehicles operated by the city for its downtown area shuttle.

The original facility on the site, which opened in the late 1970s, could accommodate only a maximum of 100 buses and was no longer able to meet the needs of the agency. The renovation and expansion allows for growth, providing storage for 170 buses; additional maintenance bays; and increased space for bus operators, dispatchers, supervisors, and other personnel working out of that location.

The Rapid also designed the new facility with green features such as bus wash water reclamation, a green roof, increased daylight/natural light and natural ventilation, radiant floor heating in the garage, and high-speed garage doors. The agency expects LEED certification at the Silver Level for the center.

The Wealthy Operations Center project began in December 2009 after The Rapid received $10.6 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, along with funding from other federal capital grants and a $4.2 million match from Michigan DOT. The project came in $1 million under budget for a final cost of $31.4 million.