Date:  Friday, November 16, 2007

Contact:  Brian Lagerberg, Assistant Director, Public Transportation Division, 360-705-7878 (Olympia)
Michele Villnave, Communications Manager, Public Transportation Division, 360-705-7875 (Olympia)

VANCOUVER– Clark County C-TRAN (Transit System) officials held a ribbon-cutting on Friday, Nov. 16 to celebrate the completion of the new 99th Street Transit Center and expanded bus service. These projects were paid for in part through $1.19 million in WSDOT Regional Mobility Grants.

The 99th Street Transit Center will support expanded bus service on the highly congested I-5 route across the Washington/Oregon border. The transit center and new bus service is projected to improve the efficiency of the transportation system by reducing the need for 317,000 vehicle trips and 4.4 million vehicle miles traveled.

WSDOT Regional Mobility Grants provided critical funding for improvements to the access road and intersection and for expanded bus service.

“This transit center and 12 additional daily round trips make commuting by bus an even better option for Clark County commuters, who want less time gripping the steering wheel in traffic and more time for more important things,” stated Paula Hammond, WSDOT Secretary of Transportation. “These improvements provide some immediate help for commuters while we continue to work with Oregon and local communities on the Columbia River Crossing project.”

“This is an exciting time for C-TRAN and our customers as we implement the most significant service change in the agency’s history,” said Jeff Hamm, C-TRAN’s Executive Director/CEO, “Not only will these changes provide many of our riders with better service, but we hope to attract many new riders to the system as well.”

A 2005 WSDOT Regional Mobility Grant provided $600,000 for access road and intersection improvements near the transit center. A 2007 grant provided $590,000 for the express bus service from the transit center to Portland, Ore. In addition to higher levels of rush hour service, the project adds a mid-day and late evening connection between downtown Portland, the 99th Street Transit Center and the Salmon Creek Park and Ride. Every day 130,300 vehicles cross the I-5 Interstate Bridge over the Columbia River.

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