By Ari Bloomekatz
Enquirer staff writer

This is a plan for the $7.5 million transit center that is designed to ease boarding and leaving buses downtown. Provided by Metro

Metro and city planners have spent four years developing plans for a new multimillion-dollar bus hub in Government Square, and they finally received the money they need.

More than $4 million in federal grants was given to the city this week on top of nearly $3.5 million in state funds already allocated for the new transit center.

Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, had earmarked the federal grants last year and arranged for the money to be released.

The current hub is on Fifth Street between Walnut and Main streets. It is being remodeled primarily because it does not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, said Sallie Hilvers, a spokeswoman for Metro.

The hub serves more than 1,000 buses a day during the workweek and can pose difficulty for people in wheelchairs.

"If you use a wheelchair or have any mobility impairments, it's very, very difficult, if not impossible," Hilvers said. The hub was designed in 1977. The ADA was passed in 1990.

The remodeling project also is designed to reduce traffic flow and provide green space.

Last November, Metro said construction of the hub would begin this summer, but plans are running months behind.

The design stage is now drawing to a close and groundbreaking will likely be in the fall, Hilvers said.

One of the reasons for the delay was that it took time for Metro to gain approval for the project from various organizations, Hilvers said.

E-mail abloomekatz@enquirer.com