WASHINGTON, DC - Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced $1,138,500 in funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to support the preliminary engineering necessary to complete the environmental investigation and remediation for the proposed multi-modal facility in the City of Utica.

“This funding will support important upgrades to the Utica transportation system, which are more important than ever as gas prices hover in the stratosphere,” said Schumer. “This grant will go a long way toward helping the community make the improvements needed to modernize its public transit system to help residents travel safely and efficiently throughout the area.”

“This grant is welcome news for the City of Utica and for the area’s residents that depend on mass transit for their daily commutes,” said Senator Clinton. “A new transfer facility will not only serve to update the City’s transportation infrastructure, it will also help ensure that we can meet the transportation challenges in Utica and throughout Oneida County.”

According to the DOT, the City of Utica, New York will use funds for preliminary engineering necessary to complete the environmental investigation and remediation for the proposed multi-modal facility.

The ultimate project will be for the construction of a multimodal transfer facility primarily for CENTRO and other transit providers within the bed of Charlotte Street. As part of the transfer facility, the project includes a center island platform with benches and appropriate signage to indicate bus routes. In addition, enclosed space will be constructed overlooking the transfer facility for CENTRO offices, passenger waiting, ticket/transfer sales and public restrooms. The space will also include leasable area for possible use by a newsstand, coffee shop, day care facility, etc. In accordance with federal regulations, any revenue from leasable space will be considered program income and will be utilized for the maintenance and operations of the transit facility. Above the transfer hub, the project calls for the construction of a structured parking facility that will house approximately 300 vehicles (See: http://grants.ost.dot.gov/public/ViewMessage.cfm?MsgID=gpogsvd0rk).