The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) released $46.7 million for 16 Michigan projects that will put people to work renovating and building needed transit facilities, put more clean fuel buses on the road and help communities plan for their future transit needs.

The Michigan grants are among nearly 300 competitive discretionary grants totaling more than $900 million nationwide to rebuild and renovate America’s transit infrastructure and plan for the future. The funds come from the FTA’s fiscal year 2011 Alternatives Analysis, Bus Livability and State of Good Repair programs.

The complete list of selected projects can be found here.

Projects receiving federal funding in Michigan include:

•    The Blue Water Area Transportation Commission will receive $6.9 million to replace the existing Quay Street Transfer Center with one that is more centrally located in downtown Port Huron. The project will consolidate the transfer center over a smaller area, decreasing the time needed to make necessary transfers and improving service to customers.

•    The Thunder Bay Transportation Authority will receive $6 million for phases one and two of a new administration and maintenance facility. This facility will incorporate the newest circulation and ventilation system to reduce the harmful emissions from the diesel fleet.  To reduce operational costs, the facility will also include additional LEED and green design techniques to the greatest extent possible. 

•    The City of Detroit Department of Transportation will receive $6 million to replace buses that are beyond their useful lives, $518,291 to rehabilitate a number of buildings at its Coolidge Terminal, and $320,000 to develop an asset management system that will more effectively track the condition of its fleet, facilities and equipment.

Meanwhile, the Lehigh Valley, in eastern Pennsylvania, received $14.4 million from the FTA to improve transit facilities in Allentown and Easton. The money will help put more than 100 people to work building modern, efficient transit facilities which will help meet the needs of a growing number of transit riders in eastern Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley.

The money will help replace the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority’s nearly 60-year-old bus maintenance garage in Allentown with a new energy efficient facility that can readily accommodate a fleet of modern hybrid buses and other vehicles.

The funds will also help the City of Easton and its private partner construct a new Intermodal Transportation Center in downtown Easton that will offer area residents more convenient access to local bus lines as well as bus lines connecting Philadelphia, northern New Jersey, and New York.

Both facilities are expected to be completed in 2013.