The Butler Transit Authority broke ground Tuesday for the first phase of its $13 million intermodal transit center on Hansen Avenue. It hopes to have the facility open in a year. "We're hoping to be in the dirt in three weeks and cutting ribbons by next December," said John Paul, executive director of the BTA. Uhl Construction of Allison Park has been hired to build the 7,000-square-foot office building, which will house the BTA and Butler Area Rural Transit offices, a maintenance and wash bay building, and an enclosed storage area for the BART shared-ride and BTA buses. The transit center is expected to reduce the authority's operating costs by at least 20 percent, and the LEED building should reduce its energy costs by 50 percent. That first phase of the center, costing about $7.5 million, is funded by $5.3 million in federal economic stimulus funds as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and $2.4 million in previously allocated federal dollars. The second phase of construction, which is yet to be funded, will add a passenger waiting area for interconnecting bus routes and Park 'N Ride commuters.
