[IMAGE]Transbay-center-full.jpg[/IMAGE]The Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) received a $171 million federal loan for the construction of a new transit center in downtown San Francisco, the Transbay Transit Center, which will connect the Bay Area to the rest of California, making daily commutes and longer trips easier, faster and more convenient.

The new multimodal, regional facility, to be completed in 2014, will replace an outdated terminal built in 1939.

The U.S. Department's Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan will also finance ramps to the Bay Bridge, a bus storage facility and the design of the underground transit facility as part of the project's first phase.

The second phase, which is still subject to financing commitments, will extend Caltrain service, the California commuter rail line, 1.3 miles to the new center.

The Transbay Transit Center is the first transit project of its kind funded by TIFIA.

The TJPA, a local government agency created to design, build, operate and maintain the new center, will receive the loan to advance the project.

Construction cost for phase one of the project is $1.189 billion. The total project cost is slated at $4.2 billion.