The Lane Transit District voted 5-1 to approve plans for a 6-mile expansion of its Emerald Express from Springfield Station to Gateway and RiverBend areas in northern Springfield.
The LTD Board’s approval of the project, known as the Pioneer Parkway Corridor, comes five days after LTD debuted the first Emerald Express bus at Eugene Station.
The new buses are powered by hybrid-electric propulsion and will carry passengers between downtown Eugene and downtown Springfield.
The Pioneer Parkway Corridor will be the second phase of LTD’s Emerald Express, known as the EmX. The EmX is scheduled to begin services on Jan. 14.
The $37-million project, whose construction is expected to begin in 2008, was previously approved by the Springfield City Council on Nov. 6 and the Lane County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 8.
The support from all three groups affirmed that LTD has a good project that is moving forward, said LTD spokesman Andy Vobora.
LTD is waiting for an assessment of the environmental effects of the Pioneer Parkway Corridor by the Federal Transit Administration.
LTD submitted applications for federal funding through the Federal Transit Administration, which is expected to finance 80 percent of the project’s costs, Vobora said. He said LTD made a good argument for the 80 percent funding from the federal government, which is expected to vote on the project when the U.S. Congress reconvenes in 2007. The City of Springfield and PeaceHealth Medical Group, which is building its new hospital campus in RiverBend, donated land for the project, Vobora said.
Once funding for the project is secured, LTD can begin work on final designs for the project, which is on track for opening in either 2009 or 2010, Vobora said.