RTC, Nevada Senator Harry Reid, UNLV and local leaders celebrate groundbreaking for new UNLV Transit Center

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC), Nevada Senator Harry Reid, UNLV and local leaders today celebrated the March Madness-themed groundbreaking for a new transit center that will be located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).

Scheduled to open this fall, the UNLV Transit Center will be a 6,460-square-foot facility located on the corner of Maryland Parkway and University Road, within walking distance of key UNLV facilities, including the Thomas & Mack Center, Cox Pavilion, and various UNLV academic and administrative buildings. The open-air facility will offer a large number of bike racks and an outdoor waiting area with shelter canopies.

"Southern Nevada needs a modern infrastructure and transit system that enables long-term growth. This new project will become a major hub that will support UNLV students and staff, and those in the surrounding community,” said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. “I am pleased to have worked with RTC of Southern Nevada and other stakeholders to help make this project become a reality. It will be another important step in our state’s growth and it will serve the community for years to come."

The new transit center will significantly improve connectivity to public transit at UNLV as well as within the surrounding community. The centennial express will serve the UNLV Transit Center, and provide a direct link to the RTC’s main transit hub, the bonneville transit center in downtown Las Vegas, where riders can connect to other transit routes serving destinations across the valley.

“It is important as our university plans for its next decade of growth that we look for alternative ways for students, faculty, staff and visitors to access our campus,” said UNLV President Neal Smatresk. “This transit center is good for commuting students and staff, but also opens up new opportunities for visitors to campus cultural and athletic events.”

Renderings of the new facility were unveiled at the future site of the UNLV Transit Center during the groundbreaking event, which was transformed into an outdoor basketball court, complete with bleacher seating, popcorn and thunder sticks for the event.

“This project epitomizes the RTC’s commitment to community partnerships,” said RTC General Manager Tina Quigley. “Having the ability to work with UNLV on a project that will encourage the use of public transit to and from the campus and hopefully, alleviate some of the area’s parking needs is something we are incredibly passionate about at the RTC.”

The UNLV Transit Center is being built with $3.45 million, 80 percent of which is federally funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Bus and Bus Facilities Livability Initiative Grant, and 20 percent funded by a local match made by the RTC.