After years of planning, bus rapid transit begins taking shape in Grand Rapids

From The Grand Rapids Press:

Work on a new bus rapid transit station at the corner of Fulton Street and Ransom Avenue started on Monday, April 1 in Grand Rapids. (Emily Zoladz | Mlive.com)

Ten years of planning. Ten years of patience and hoping, years marked by defeat and success alike. Now, finally, a tangible part of Grand Rapids’ forthcoming $40-million bus rapid transit Silver Line is beginning to show.

Work began April 1 on the first of 33 stations that will line Division Avenue and several downtown thoroughfares, marking the start of construction on the 9.6-mile line between Wyoming and Grand Rapids.

Twenty-nine stations are slated for construction this year, with the remaining four scheduled to be built in spring 2014. The endeavor will cost $15.6 million, a total that includes street and sidewalk improvements, utility relocation, cement and what Rapid leaders said will be some impressive landscaping at some of the stations.

The expectations, in each the transportation and financial realms, are vast. Once operational in August 2014, it will be Michigan’s first bus rapid transit line, so-called for shaving 40 percent off commute times over regular buses. Project leaders say it will spark economic investment.