On Wednesday, Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff was in South Bend, Ind., to take part in a groundbreaking ceremony for a state-of-the-art transit complex to be built with funds, in part, from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

“This facility will not only provide the people of South Bend with the 21st Century transit system they need and deserve, but it will also mean a cleaner environment, as well as the immediate and long-term creation of jobs,” said Rogoff.

The South Bend Public Transportation Corp. (Transpo) has received $18.3 in federal transit funds for the project, including an ARRA grant of $3.7 million that was announced last month.

The funds will be used to build the $20.9 million, 167,000-acre Emil “Lucky” Reznick Operations, Administration and Maintenance Facility, the largest transit project to be built in Indiana in more than a decade. The facility will replace the current transit center, which dates back to the 1880s.

Funds were applied for and are made available through the FTA assistance programs. More than $2.22 billion has already been made available in 222 grants throughout the U.S. since President Obama signed the bill into law on Feb. 17, 2009. In total, ARRA includes $8.4 billion for capital transit improvements.