Federal agency awards $17.3M for Des Moines bus project

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The federal government is awarding the Des Moines area bus system over $17 million for a new maintenance building.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday it would award $17.3 million to the Des Moines Regional Transit Authority for new operations and maintenance facility. The transit authority wants to move its operations center from an area near downtown to an industrial area.

Amanda Wanke, the authority’s chief external affairs officer, told The Des Moines Register the federal money was “the first step” toward those plans, with the total cost estimated at $68 million.

The Transportation Department also awarded $9.4 million toward the replacement of buses in rural areas of the state.

The grants were among $423 million that the Transportation Department awarded across the country.