CORPUS CHRISTI, TX — The Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority (CCRTA) was awarded a $7,231,023 federal grant to improve their buses and bus facilities, announced U.S. Senator John Cornyn’s office.

The competitive grant submitted by the CCRTA will fund the Port Ayers Transfer Station, two transit stops at Del Mar College Southside’s campus and the reconstruction of the CCRTA Operations Center’s parking lots. This is the first competitive grant that the organization has ever received.

“This grant will not only change the landscape of Corpus Christi, but will significantly impact the quality of public transportation for our veterans, individuals with disabilities and students, for generations to come,” said Jorge Cruz-Aedo, CCRTA Chief Executive Officer.

“This was a critical step moving forward to improving transit mobility in the region and bringing our infrastructure up to date,” said Eddie Martinez, CCRTA Board of Directors Chair. “We want to thank the work that our regional and national political leaders did to advance our application for these projects with the Federal Transit Administration, including: U.S. Senator John Cornyn, U.S. Representative Michael Cloud, U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar, U.S. Representative Vicente Gonzalez, U.S. Representative Filemon Vela and Texas Senator Juan ‘Chuy’ Hinojosa. We are also grateful for the support from our regional community leaders and South Texas delegates.”

The state of Texas received $21 million, with the Texas Department of Transportation receiving the remaining $13.8 million dollars on behalf of rural transit.