Noting the significance in providing transportation services to those who rely on them, Lebanon Transit and state officials broke ground Wednesday for the authority’s new $41.4 million operations and maintenance facility.
PennDOT secretary Mike Carroll spoke of the critical need the facility will help meet for those who use shared and fixed ride services offered by the transit authority, located at 200 Willow St., Lebanon.
The $41.429 million transportation complex will include a 20,000-square-foot maintenance facility and a combined 40,000-square-foot garage and operations building that will house 18 buses and 14 vans. Construction has commenced with demolition of the old Lebanon Transit (LT) facilities and is expected to continue through late April 2028.
“There is transit in every single county in the state, and on average 65% of folks who utilize that transit say that that is their only option, and that math applies to Lebanon County as well,” Carroll said during remarks prior to the ceremony. “Two-thirds of the folks who ride these facilities, whether it’s fixed or shared rides, have no other alternative or way to get where they need to go. So it is critically important for people in our community that rely on this transit network and I thank the LT folks for their great work. Of course, public transit is a lifeline for those folks and for the folks that use it in its totality.”
While Carroll said the state’s investment is $21 million, Lebanon Transit executive director Angie Luciotti clarified to LebTown after the ceremony that the project cost had been lowered from $48 million, meaning the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s final share would be about $17 million instead of $21 million. The balance of the project, which comes with no cost increase in fares to riders, is around $24 million in federal funding and approximately $700,000 from local coffers…