ROANOKE, Va. – Crews have broken ground on a new multi-million dollar transit facility in the Star City.
Groundwork started in late September at the site of the new bus station in front of the Virginia Museum of Transportation along Salem Avenue.
While the project met hesitations from businesses and residents in the area, it’s now full speed ahead.
Crews have dug up the pavement and are getting ready for the next steps of installing utilities and sewer systems. After that, they’ll work on the temporary station, which should be up and running by the end of January 2022.
Between design, permits and construction costs, the new station will total $17.3 million.
Valley Metro General Manager Kevin Price said that in just two years, the vision will come to life.
“It’s a little nerve-wracking, but exciting at the same time because we get to do something that most don’t get the opportunity to do in their career, being that most transit facilities are 40-year facilities,“ said Price. “We’re in a good spot to be able to do something really, really good for the Roanoke community.”
Valley Metro will start pushing out educational information for riders and the public to learn about the routes and the temporary bus station.
Valley Metro says it wants to be a good neighbor and is asking folks to excuse the mess during construction and asking for patience.