Ill-based Rockford Mass Transit District (RMTD) awarded a construction contract to for the renovation and expansion of RMTD’s current vehicle storage and maintenance facility.

In the first phase of the project, the existing facility will be expanded onto existing right-of-way and adjacent property in coordination with the City of Rockford. 

RMTD’s Expanded Facility

The expanded facility will provide sufficient space to accommodate current and future fixed-route vehicle storage needs while integrating battery-electric charging infrastructure into the facility to support the agency’s current and future battery-electric fixed-route vehicles.

The first phase of the project also includes the relocation of the current fixed-route and demand-response operations area on the second floor of the facility to an area on the ground floor in the current and expanded facility space. 

Additionally, the second floor of the facility will be expanded to increase training space, meeting rooms, and employee amenities.

Moving into Phase 2

The second phase of the project involves the renovation and rehabilitation of the maintenance and storage areas in the current facility by reconfiguring and upgrading spaces to provide expanded space for vehicle maintenance functions to improve efficiencies. 

The current storage area will integrate battery-electric charging infrastructure for future battery-electric demand response vehicles.

Initial site work will begin in November, with the first phase of the project expected to take approximately one and a half years to fully complete. 

The second phase is expected to take approximately one year to complete.

Funding for the Project

The project is primarily being funded through two awards totaling $32,667,000 from the Illinois Department of Transportation’s (IDOT) Rebuild Illinois Capital Grant Program and a previously awarded IDOT Capital Grant totaling $519,152.

RMTD has operated at its current facility for over 35 years. The facility was originally designed to store and maintain a total fleet of 50 diesel and gasoline powered vehicles.

Currently, the RMTD fleet consists of 77 vehicles, 41 fixed-route, and 33 demand-response vehicles.