TARC breaks ground on one of the state's largest ARRA projects

The Transit Authority of River City (TARC) broke ground yesterday on its Maintenance Annex Building behind Union Station, 1000 W. Broadway.

The project, which will create 80 jobs, is the largest and first major construction project in the region to be funded by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding. The building will be certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Speakers at the celebration included Barry Barker, TARC's Executive Director; Cedric Merlin Powell, TARC Board chairman; Therese McMillan, Deputy Administrator for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA); Yvette Taylor, FTA Administrator for Region IV in Atlanta; Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson; Congressman John Yarmuth; and Joe Prather, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary.

The annex is a 14,000 square foot building that will be used for training operators and mechanic and will include bus cleaning bays. The project received $4.6 million in ARRA funding.

"This project is a clear example of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act providing immediate and long-term benefits in Louisville" said Congressman Yarmuth.

New TARC express service out of Indiana started today

TARC is providing a new express service between downtown Louisville and a new Park & TARC lot in Jeffersonville, Ind. The new route #74, which started today, will travel from the Jeffersonville Park & TARC across the Second Street Bridge to Louisville and arrive downtown in just a few short minutes. It will serve stops throughout downtown and the Medical Center. See attached map for exact routing.

Development of the Park & TARC lot and the new service are being funded by the state of Indiana. The lot is located at 9th Street and V.F.W. Blvd. Three morning and three afternoon trips every weekday will be provided initially, departing Jeffersonville at 6:42, 7:20 and 8 a.m. and leaving downtown in the afternoon at 4:02, 4:47 and 5:34 p.m.

For additional information call 585-1234, TTY 213-3240 or plan your trip on the TARC web site at www.ridetarc.org.

Mayor's Community Conversation

Don't forget - Josh Suiter, Community Outreach Specialist, will be at the Mayor's Community Conversation on Monday night from 6:30-8 p.m. at Fairdale High School, 1001 Fairdale Road. He will be available to answer questions about transportation planning.

Also, don't forget you can send comments ANYTIME to KIPDA by emailing kipda.trans@ky.gov or mail them to Josh Suiter, KIPDA, 11520 Commonwealth Drive, Louisville, KY 40299.

Come meet KIPDA staff

Below are some events where you can talk with KIPDA staff about project ideas, current projects and any other questions or concerns you may have:

• Southwest Dream Team: August 4, 3-4:30 p.m. at National College, 3950 Dixie Highway.
• Develop New Albany Networking Event: August 4, 5-7 p.m. at Jimmy's Music Connection, 123 E. Market St, in New Albany.
• One Southern Indiana Network of Champions: August 13, 7:30-9 a.m. at 300 Spring in Jeffersonville.
• Grow Jeffersonville: August 13, 5-7 p.m. at 300 Spring in Jeffersonville.
• Louisville Metro Mayor's Community Conversation: August 17, 6:30 p.m. at Fairdale High School, 1001 Fairdale Road.
• Sellersburg Celebrates: August 27, 5-10 p.m.; August 28, 5-11 p.m.; and August 29, noon-11 p.m. Location to be announced.

Stimulus Project List Changes...

During yesterday's Transportation Policy Committee (TPC) meeting, changes to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) or stimulus act project list were approved.

The changes include removing some projects from the list and moving them to a different federal funding source, removing them without assigning alternative funding, and adding some new projects to the ARRA list. Many of these changes were made because projects could not meet the designated deadlines for the stimulus funding.

At the request of the project sponsor, the TPC approved the removal of the Bullitt County signage project and the Louisville Metro’s Intermodal Transit Center project from the ARRA funding list. The signage project cost was $1219 and the Transit Center was funded at $1,856,026.

In addition, the Eighth Street Repaving project in Jeffersonville, Indiana, was removed from the list. The funding amount was $158,939. It was replaced with a Floyd County (IN) project to add warning signals and striping at Highland Hills Middle, Galena Elementary and Floyd Central High schools. Funding for the new project will remain the same as the amount that was designated for the Eighth Street project.

Some projects were moved from AARA funding to a different federal funding program (the Surface Transportation Program Urban (SLO) funds) due to time constraints. These projects, descriptions, costs and project sponsors are:
· Ohio River Levee Trail: 13,000 linear feet of trail between the Riverside Historic Site and the Mill Creek Generating Station. Funding amount: $687,500. Sponsor: Louisville Metro Parks.
· Stonestreet Elementary School Outdoor Classroom: Construct a shared use path from neighborhood sidewalk to the rear of the school property, and provide outdoor classroom amenities along the shared use path. Project will include a wetland restoration on school site. Funding amount: $82,500. Sponsor: Jefferson County Public Schools.
· KY 155 Streetscape: Improve streetscape, reconstruct sidewalks and enhance landscaping from College Drive to Ruckriegel Parkway. Funding amount: $900,000. Sponsor: City of Jeffersontown.
· I-71 Pedestrian Overpass: Construction of a pedestrian/bicycle bridge over Interstate I-71 along KY 146. Funding amount: $876,853. Sponsor: Oldham County Government.
· AB Sawyer Greenway and Connector Trails: 2,800 linear feet of a 10-foot wide multi-use path through AB Sawyer Park, connecting to surrounding neighborhoods. Project includes an underpass, bridge, and site amenities. Funding amount: $616,000. Sponsor: Louisville Metro Parks.
· Bullitt County Walkable Community Workshops: Implementation of improvements identified by the Walkable Community Workshop in Bullitt County. Specific locations are in the process of being provided by Bullitt County. Funding amount: $198,000. Sponsor: Bullitt County Government.
· Old Floydsburg Road Safety Improvements: Replace narrow one-lane culvert crossing; clear trees and vegetation out of right-of-way; add shoulder to the road, and add signage for safety. Funding amount: $440,000. Sponsor: Oldham County Government.
· Seneca Loop Extension East and West: East: Design and construction completing the loop in Seneca Park by adding bicycle facilities on Cannons Lane, Dutchman's Lane and KY 155 (Taylorsville Road); West: Design and construction to make connections from Cherokee Park and Seneca Loop to Beargrass Trail and eventual connections to Butchertown Trail and Riverwalk. Work plan considers safety and operational improvements at various street/intersection crossings including the intersection of Lexington Road and Grinsted Drive and Beargrass Trail entrances. Funding amount: $770,000. Sponsor: Louisville Metro Public Works.

Once these changes were approved, two projects were added to the ARRA list. The projects added to the list are:

· Louisville Metro Sidewalk Rehabilitation: Repair existing sidewalks. Funding amount: $1,856,026.
· KY 913 (Blankenbaker Parkway) Extension: Extend KY 913 (Blankenbaker Parkway) as 5 lane road from Blankenbaker Access Road to KY 155 (Taylorsville Road). Funding amount: $4,245,662.

The Blankenbaker Parkway Extension project was previously funded through the SLO program. In order to continue the advancement of the ARRA projects that were removed from the list due to the deadlines, a portion of the SLO funding already designated for the Blankenbaker project was allotted to those projects. The ARRA funding previously associated with those projects was then allocated to Blankenbaker Parkway. This exchange in funding source will permit not only the projects originally identified for the stimulus program but also the Blankenbaker Extension to be fully funded and to proceed without delay.

For more information on these changes, please call Josh Suiter, KIPDA Community Outreach Specialist, at (502) 266-6084.

KIPDA IS SEEKING PUBLIC INPUT ON TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AMENDMENTS

The Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency is seeking public comment on proposed changes to projects in the 2007–2011 Transportation Improvement Plan and the Horizon 2030 Long Range Transportation Plan.

Project information is available for public review from July 21-August 4 at public libraries in Bullitt, Clark, Floyd, Jefferson and Oldham counties and at http://www.kipda.org/Transportation/Drafts.aspx or by calling Josh Suiter at 502-266-6084, 1-800-648-6056 (KY TDD) or 1-800-962-8408 (IN TDD). Comments can also be sent to KIPDA, 11520 Commonwealth Drive, Louisville, KY 40299 or emailed to Kipda.trans@ky.gov.

KIPDA will also host open houses to provide additional information and accept comments from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. July 28 in the conference room at KIPDA, 11520 Commonwealth Drive in Jeffersontown or from 4-6:30 p.m. July 28 in the Council Chambers of the City of Jeffersonville, 500 Quartermaster Court in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, people needing assistance should contact KIPDA with the requirements at the telephone numbers or address listed above.

TARC's new Southern Indiana express service

Southern Indiana commuters have a new way to get to downtown Louisville. Beginning June 1, TARC introduced new express service to downtown Louisville from southern Indiana.

The new #65X-Southern Indiana Express route has six trips on weekday mornings departing from Meijer on Charlestown Road and traveling non-stop to downtown Louisville on Interstate 265 to Interstate 65. Stops are schedule in both the Central Business District and Louisville Medical Center. There will be six morning trips leaving Meijer between 6:12 and 8:17 a. m. The six afternoon trips leave downtown between 3:37 and 6:02 p.m. The cash fare is $1.50.

Tickets and passes can be purchased on-line at http://www.ridetarc.org/, at Fifth Third Bank and several library branches. In addition, they are available at Union Station, 1000 W. Broadway, and the NIA Center on 29th and Broadway, or by mail at the cashier, TARC, 1000 West Broadway, Louisville, KY 40203.

For more information on this or any route or fares, call TARC Customer Service at 585-1234 or go to www.ridetarc.org.