(AP) -- The Michigan Department of Transportation, Amtrak, Greyhound and the city of Pontiac will host a groundbreaking on Friday for the new Pontiac Transportation Center, which will serve both passenger rail and intercity bus passengers.
The intermodal station is expected to be finished by summer 2011. Located at 51000 Woodward Ave., the facility will serve as a hub for mass transit, including Amtrak's Wolverine service to Chicago.
The event will take place at 10 a.m.
Pontiac's central location is an important asset to the community. It is at a transportation crossroads, serving passenger rail, intercity bus and local transit customers, with easy access to I-75 and M-59, and Oakland County International Airport. SMART, which serves local transit passengers in Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties, stops within sight of the facility on Woodward Avenue.
The previous transportation center was demolished in 2008. The new energy-efficient, fully accessible facility will be built with 100 percent state funds.
During construction, tickets must be purchased online from Amtrak or Greyhound, or from a kiosk or agent in another facility. When the new facility opens, a Greyhound ticketing agent will assist bus passengers.
Greyhound has eight daily schedules that go through Pontiac. The top five destinations of travelers from Pontiac are Chicago, Indianapolis, Saginaw, Lansing and New York. Greyhound has 160 locations throughout the state of Michigan.
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