On Thursday, the Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority (RPTA) celebrated the grand opening of its first construction project in the agency’s 23-year history.

The transit center at a construction cost of $2.3 million and LINK stations at $5.2 million are funded by Proposition 400, the county half-cent sales tax approved in 2004 that funds transportation projects and services in Maricopa County.

Partners who designed, developed and constructed the facility include: the city of Mesa, Valley Metro RPTA and Westcor.

The transit center will provide service for the Valley’s first arterial Bus Rapid Transit service, Main Street LINK, which began connecting the east valley to the light rail station at Sycamore and Main last December. Valley Metro will also open 13 out of 26 LINK stations along the route. Local artist, Laurie Lindquist, designed the LINK station at the Mesa Arts Shelter to incorporate dangling mirror-coated “raindrops” to create a dynamic feature of movement and sound.

Features of the new transit center include artistic fencing made of rusty steel and stone inspired by the earth’s curves and a main shelter that mimics the arches of the mall. Local artist, William Barnhart, provided the design for the artwork.