The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Greases the wheels for move to Whetstone Industrial area
By Mark Reaman
The Mountain Express was the recipient of more than $14 million from a federal grant that will fund the majority cost of a new bus campus in the Whetstone Industrial Park. The money came out of the Federal Transit Administration’s Bus and Bus Facilities program and will be funneled through the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).
It was the largest Colorado award this grant cycle. The $14.4 million should pay for about 80% of the project with additional funds coming from the towns of Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte, along with funding from CDOT and money earmarked in the Mountain Express budget over the years. Mountain Express and the Gunnison Valley Rural Transportation Authority had purchased three acres in the industrial park several years ago. The RTA has a completed building on site.
Mountain Express managing director Jeremy Herzog said the grant should allow the transit agency to be able to move into new quarters in about two-and-a-half years.
“This is the third time we have applied for these funds,” said Herzog. “We did an application debrief with the program head in D.C. last year. She indicated our application was “highly qualified” but so are 75% of the applications, and typically only 15-20% get funded. This year, both Crested Butte mayor Ian Billick and I reached out to our state and federal elected officials for letters of support, which perhaps helped.”
While Mountain Express has helped at the Whetstone site with things like site preparation and building a fence, this grant will move the project into high gear. The goal is to complete the design in 2026, begin construction in 2027 and shoot for a move-in date in 2028.
“The project is meant to be a complete build for Mountain Express and its operations for the foreseeable future,” Herzog explained. “The project includes 2,000 square feet of office space, 10 inside bus bays, 14 covered bus bays and parking for 15 passenger vans and staff vehicles. The building will be constructed with the infrastructure to transition to electric vehicles, when that makes more sense. Having indoor storage for all of our vehicles going out that day in the winter is a huge win for our team. We are fortunate to have a hard-working crew of folks who often dig buses out of the current yard at 6:30 a.m. in the dead of winter but I am very excited we’ll make that already hard job just a bit easier.”
The current Mountain Express facilities are in buildings and land that is part of the Crested Butte public works yard site. The town has repeatedly expressed joy at the idea of Mountain Express having its own facility so they can utilize the space.
“The facility we are currently in is leased from the Town of CB. We consume 1,000 square feet of office space, as well as five bus bays and 20 outdoor spots, which is three more spots than our lease officially allows,” Herzog explained. “We are appreciative of the town staff, who has been very friendly and accommodating of our needs. Upon moving into the new facility, we will turn this back to the town for their use. Back in 2022, we spent about $35,000 on a cosmetic remodel of the admin spaces and are proud to say we will turn it back to them better than we found.”
Mountain Express board chair Roman Kolodziej was stoked about the award. “It’s huge. Seeing Mountain Express listed alongside some heavy hitters is pretty amazing,” he said. “A lot is being asked of the organization these days and this new facility will help it grow with the community.”
Herzog said Mountain Express is on a bit of a grant roll. This is the third award Mountain Express has received this year. The organization received an award of an additional $100,000 in perpetual funding of its annual FTA grant, based on the success of FirstTracks. The group also received a grant of another $300,000 in annual perpetual CDOT funding to expand the Town Shuttle route in 2027/28.
“To me, these three awards show, all the investment we have made in staff has started to bear fruit,” he said. “I am only able to spend the time doing the legwork on these efforts because other folks at Mountain Express are stepping up and taking on new roles and responsibilities to run our daily operations. So, this win is very much a team win that we all proudly share. As you look across the North Valley, there is no such thing as a perfect construction project, so we’ll need to be really on it when it comes to managing scope, schedule and budget.”
The Gunnison Valley Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) was on the list of Colorado grant recipients as well. They were fully funded for a $768,557 request to buy a commuter bus to replace an older bus that is at the end of its useful life. The grant will cover about 85% of its total cost.
The Mountain Express also received grant funding from the feds for replacement buses to the tune of $256,000. Herzog explained that will cover 80% of the cost for a new bus and a new senior van.
“Good things come in threes,” concluded Kolodziej. “After this grant award and the Titans championship, I’m hoping a deep winter is up next.”
