Southeastern CT Bus System To Receive $20 Million In Federal Money

PRESTON, CT — The Southeast Area Transit District (SEAT) has received a grant for $20.394 million from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for major capital improvements, according to a statement from Gov. Ned Lamont.

The funds will be used to modernize the transit district’s 42-year-old maintenance facility in Preston and prepare it for the next generation of bus equipment and maintenance technology. It will also be used to purchase additional buses and establish a training program for SEAT operators and mechanics to learn about the next generation of bus equipment and technology.

Delivered under the FTA’s Buses and Bus Facilities Program and the Low or No Emission Vehicle Program, the grant is among the agency’s first competitive grant awards under the recently enacted Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The programs support the President Joe Biden's administration’s commitment to "expand the country’s transportation infrastructure, create and maintain good-paying jobs, and fight climate change," according to the statement.

“This funding is being targeted for a long-overdue upgrade and modernization of the bus system in Southeastern Connecticut,” Governor Lamont said. “With continued investments in our infrastructure and transit facilities like this one that we are making for SEAT, we are creating a more sustainable and reliable public transportation system in Connecticut. President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a game changer for our state. Our Congressional delegation helped push this bill through, and its impact will be felt in Connecticut for the next generation.”

SEAT’s existing 30,000 square-foot facility in Preston was built in 1980 and is used for bus storage, maintenance, and administrative activities. The improvements this grant will support include a complete retrofit of the current building coupled with a newly constructed 25,000-square-foot garage addition.

The project will include infrastructure and site improvements, power upgrades, and maintenance shop enhancements. With this funding, the Connecticut Department of Transportation and SEAT will continue design efforts for these capital renovations and plan to begin construction in 2024 with completion tentatively planned for the end of 2025.

SEAT is a transit district that operates a public bus system in southeastern Connecticut. Although it primarily relies on state funding, it functions as a local government agency that is overseen by a board of directors consisting of representatives of its member towns, which include East Lyme, Griswold, Groton, Lisbon, Montville, New London, Norwich, Stonington, and Waterford.