Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger announced she has given $500,000 from Fifth District discretionary funding to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The money will be used to advance planning and project development activities for the proposed Center for Transportation Technology Excellence project (Center).

The Center would be a first-of-its-kind in the United States, a 2-million square foot facility for rail car and bus manufacturing, testing, research, and development.

The Center also has the potential to generate $11.5 billion in economic returns and over 114,300 direct and indirect jobs, according to the American Public Transportation Association.

“This is a project of national significance that has the power to transform the Antelope Valley through billions of dollars in estimated economic returns and by creating over 100,000 direct and indirect jobs,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “This local contribution will help the project keep its momentum forward, so that critical project planning and development tasks can be completed. This is a once-in-a-lifetime transportation development opportunity and I will continue working hard to keep it moving forward.”

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors recently approved the County entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in support of the Center in January. LA Metro, a party to the recent MOU and the project lead, aims to match the Supervisor’s contribution. “Thank you, Metro Director and L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, for providing critical funding to support the Center for Transportation Technology Excellence,” said Stephanie Wiggins, CEO of Metro. “In the next 40 years, we’ll be purchasing hundreds of Buy America-compliant zero-emission buses and rail cars. We want as many as possible to be manufactured and tested right here in Los Angeles County, and the Center for Transportation Technology Excellence will help us do just that.  In the coming months, this funding, along with a matching $500,000 from Metro, will be used to advance the Feasibility Study to unlock more than 100,000 jobs for our region. We look forward to continuing to work with Director Barger and the rest of the Study Partners to make this game changing project a reality.”

Last year, LA Metro identified its ideal candidate location as the eastern section of Los Angeles World Airports’ Palmdale Airport land holdings. The potential site is approximately 8.6 square miles and spans both unincorporated Los Angeles County and the city of Palmdale, and will be subject to environmental, regulatory, land use, entitlement, and lease approvals.

Since identifying a possible location, a consortium of local stakeholders and supporters has been formed to contribute to the vision and future plans of the Center.

“The Center will come to fruition and it will come to fruition with the help of the skilled and trained workforce of the Building Trades,” said Ernesto Medrano, Executive Secretary of the LA/OC Building and Construction Trades Council.

“With this project, Los Angeles County will take the lead in the innovation, development, and manufacturing of America’s clean energy transportation future,” said Pete Rodriguez, Carpenters Western District Vice-President. “A skilled workforce is ready to go and there’s room in the Antelope Valley to build the affordable housing we desperately need.”