news

Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) and the City of Laredo today announced $9,875,083 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to Laredo Transit Management Inc. for the first phase of construction and rehabilitation of the El Metro Operations and Maintenance Facility.

The funds come from DOT’s Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Bus and Bus Facilities Grant Program. Nationally, the DOT is investing $221 million for new buses and bus facilities across the country.

Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) presents $9.9 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to the Laredo Transit Management Inc. on Monday morning at the El Metro Transit Center in downtown Laredo. Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) presents $9.9 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to Laredo Transit Management Inc. on Monday morning at the El Metro Transit Center in downtown Laredo. From left to right are Asst. City Manager Roberts Eads, Asst. City Manager Horacio de Leon, District IV Council Member and Mayor Pro Tempore Juan Narvaez, Deputy City Manager Cynthia Collazo, District VIII Council Member Roberto Balli, District V Council Member Roque Vela, Congressman Henry Cuellar, Mayor Pete Saenz, City Manager Jesus Olivares, El Metro Acting General Manager Claudia San Miguel and El Metro Asst. General Manager for Vehicle Maintenance Joe Jackson.

The nearly $10 million in federal funds to Laredo Transit Management Inc. will be used for the construction of the first phase of a two-phased project for the new El Metro Operations and Maintenance Facility, whose future site location will be at the intersection of Jacaman Road and Bartlett Avenue. The project is anticipated to receive matching funds $7,000,000 in City of Laredo sales tax and by $5,960,160 in in-kind match via real estate and labor. This grant is aligned with El Metro’s 25 year plan to nearly double in size with the construction of a new bus-oriented facility.  Once complete, the transit center will allow the city to provide a safer, more reliable mode of public transportation and give the city the ability to expand to meet the community’s future needs. The new facility will have the capacity of housing a fleet of more than 70 vehicles. 

Specifically, today’s funds for Phase I of the project will be used to construct a new 17,000 square-foot administration center, a 36,000 square-foot maintenance facility, and a 6,000 square-foot bush wash and compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling facility. In the future, Phase II of the project will include the construction of a Park-and-Ride location. The federal government previously provided the City of Laredo and El Metro $2.2 million for the cost of design for the Operation and Maintenance Facility through a federal grant.

El Metro’s bus transit passenger boarding’s are twice the national average and three times that of other systems in Texas.

The current facility, located at 401 Scott Street in Laredo, was built in 1981 and served as the City of Laredo’s primary sanitation facility before being repurposed for use by El Metro in 1995.

The condition of the facility, and the fact that it is land-locked an near a residential neighborhood prevents a much-needed expansion on its current site.

“My office has been working with the City of Laredo to provide federal funding for this much needed expansion project that will benefit the entire community of Laredo,” said Congressman Henry Cuellar. “Proper infrastructure and transportation are vital to the growth of our city. I thank Mayor Pete Saenz, City Manager Jesus Olivares, Councilmen Roberto Balli and Roque Vela, Jr., as well as the staff at El Metro for their dedication to the citizens of Laredo.”

“A great opportunity has been given to Laredo with this grant that will help Laredo to grow its public transit system and begin a much needed revamp to this system that has been in the same facility on Scott Street for 25 years,” said Mayor Pete Saenz. “We thank Congressman for his leadership and advocacy, as well as the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration for their gift to Laredo in the form of this grant.