Long-planned upgrades to Boise’s State Street corridor got a boost with a federal grant.
Valley Regional Transit won an $8.5 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program. The RAISE program grant will be matched by around $2 million in local contributions that will be used to construct pedestrian, transit, and bicycle facilities along an over six-mile stretch of State Street/ Highway 44, extending from downtown Boise to Bogart Lane.
Included in the improvement projects are on-route eclectic bus charging, accessible bus stations, ticketing machines, real-time bus arrival displays, updated lighting, multi-use path, improved wheelchair access and infrastructure, and more street crossings.
“This grant will allow VRT and our partners to make much-needed investments in a crucial transportation corridor,” Kelli Badesheim, VRT’s Executive Director said. “We will experience improved transit speed and reliability, enhanced accessibility and safety, and more comfortable and consistent travel for anyone using State Street. This will also provide an excellent foundation as we work toward a premium level of bus service.”
Through the Valley Connect 2.0 Plan, State Street was identified as one of the transit corridors for “premium bus service.” This would include 15-minute bus arrivals all day at improved stations. VRT is expecting project design to start next spring and construction to start the following summer.