B-Line gets a boost

Butte County’s B-Line was awarded $18 million as part of a federal transportation grant intended to repair and upgrade the nation’s aging public-transit infrastructure.

On Monday, July 23, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the $787 million program will fund 255 projects in 48 states, including the replacement of Butte Regional Transit’s administration, operations and maintenance facility, according to a U.S. Department of Transportation press release.

The new facility will be designed to meet LEED Gold standards (an environmentally focused building certification) and will include energy-generating solar canopies.

The grant is part of President Obama’s ongoing efforts to modernize the nation’s public transportation system. In fiscal years 2010-11, the Federal Transit Administration awarded more than $1.8 billion to “state of good repair projects,” mostly for buses and bus facilities.