The Monterey-Salinas Transit District (MST) in Monterey County, California, has received an $8.45 million loan via the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Build America Bureau to aid an infrastructure project.
The allocation represents the second loan under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Rural Project Initiative (RPI) initiated and launched by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
“This $8.45 million federal loan reflects this Administration’s attention to long-neglected and overlooked rural infrastructure; the monies will improve the transportation system in Monterey County and provide residents with better access to jobs, healthcare, and other services,” Chao said.
TIFIA loan proceeds are slated to finance the construction of a new 14,000 square-foot South County Operations and Maintenance Facility on a 4.8-acre lot in King City, Calif. Once the project is completed, the venue would provide MST with a base in the south of Monterey County from which to operate its south county services while reducing deadhead mileage, fuel usage, maintenance and labor costs and the risk of breakdown.
Presently no storage, parking, or operation and maintenance facilities exist in that part of the county, and all of MST’s services depend on facilities in northern Monterey County.
The Bureau was established to streamline credit opportunities while also providing technical assistance and encouraging innovative best practices in project planning, financing, delivery, and operation. During Chao’s USDOT tenure the Bureau has closed $7.9 billion in TIFIA financings, supporting more than $27.6 billion in national infrastructure investment.