METRO RTA was joined by Senator Sherrod Brown, Congresswoman Emilia Sykes, Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro, City of Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan, American Public Transportation Association (APTA) President & CEO Paul Skoutelas, and METRO Board of Trustees President Robert DeJournett November 20 to celebrate the groundbreaking of METRO’s new Maintenance and Operations Facility. Prior to the ceremonial groundbreaking, Dr. LaDonna BlueEye was welcomed to the stage to recite an Indigenous Land Acknowledgement.
METRO was awarded a Bus and Bus Facilities grant by the FTA in June 2023 totaling $37,808,113. This investment was made possible through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Since 1964, FTA has partnered with state and local governments to create and enhance public transportation systems, investing more than $13 billion annually to support and expand public transit services.
“This new facility means METRO RTA will be able to not only fix buses faster, but ensure that fewer buses break down in the first place. That means better service for Akronites,” said Brown. “Transit like METRO RTA is ultimately about the dignity of work. It creates jobs, it connects people with jobs, and it attracts jobs.”
The purpose of this project is to support current and future operational needs by providing adequate facilities to maintain a state of good repair and improve efficiencies for METRO’s maintenance and operational functions.
The building will consist of a 107,138 square feet steel-framed structure consisting of two main functional areas for operations and vehicle maintenance, a new visitor parking lot, a reconfigured employee parking lot, and a Commercial Drivers’ License training pad. It will be built on METRO-owned property at 336 Kenmore Blvd., immediately adjacent to METRO’s existing facilities at 416 Kenmore Blvd.
“METRO is beyond excited to be awarded just over 37 million from the infrastructure law to build a facility that will serve Summit County residents with sustainable transit for years to come,” said METRO RTA Chief Operations Officer Jarrod Hampshire. “This wouldn’t have been possible without the support from Senator Brown.”
Construction of the project is estimated to run through 2024 with operations beginning in the new facility in 2025.