David Riley

@rilzd

The automated doors that lead from the bus bay to the main concourse of the Downtown Transit Center whoosh open like we're on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, giving way to a 45-foot-high ceiling and walls lined with ribbons of multicolored lights.

Each gate is marked by a glowing number and a digital screen that displays bus routes and departure times.

For now, the cavernous building is all but empty. But in just a month and a half, its every feature will be on display and put to the test when the transit hub finally opens to the public.

While workers are still putting final touches on the $50 million terminal, construction is now all but finished. Work began in late 2012. As the Nov. 28 opening nears, the project continues to move along on time and within budget, said Daniele Coll-Gonzalez, chief operating officer of the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority.

The authority, which governs the region's public bus system, plans to hold a dedication ceremony Monday to celebrate the building's completion, with a crowd of elected officials expected there.

Bill Carpenter, the authority's CEO, reiterated this week that in his view, the facility will help to transform downtown and make public transit less confusing and more convenient for customers.

"We've built it to be a comfortable gathering place," he said. "We can become a place of community pride."

The project has been almost two decades in the making. Authority officials began talking about it in the late 1990s while trying to chart a new path for the transit agency. The idea of a downtown bus terminal soon became a subject of prolonged debate.

Local, state and federal officials disagreed for years about whether a combined rail-and-bus station would make more sense, if the facility should be above- or underground or if the project was necessary at all.

Much of that back-and-forth predated Carpenter's tenure as CEO, by which time funding and the location of the project were largely in place. The transit center, where most bus routes will soon begin and end, is now RGRTA's flagship project.

"My singular focus is to do the best project we can at the location approved with the money we have," Carpenter said.

The Federal Transit Administration will foot 80 percent of the bill, while the state and authority will pay 10 percent each.

To an observer downtown on Nov. 28, it may seem like someone has flipped a switch. Long lines of buses picking up, dropping off and transferring passengers will disappear from Main Street for the first time in decades, relocating to the newly opened terminal, which spans a block of Mortimer Street.

"Everything changes right away to this being the core transfer station downtown," Coll-Gonzalez said during a tour of the facility. "It happens right that morning, when the buses roll."

Considerable planning and work still has to take place behind the scenes for that transition to go smoothly.

Lighting, electrical and other systems at the transit center are being tested to work out any kinks. The sound system played piano renditions of Christmas carols at a slightly painful volume last week as a worker gave the speakers a spin.

Fare vending machines, among a few other features, still need to be installed.

Another key piece of the project will fall into place on Thursday, when one-way St. Paul Street will begin to allow two-way traffic. On Friday, North Clinton Avenue will follow suit. Both streets border the transit center and will allow buses to enter and exit from all directions.

Bus drivers already have practiced maneuvering in and out of the facility's 26 bus bays, but they will soon begin training on pulling in and out on the reconfigured streets.

Employees are working out how to manage bus traffic and will hold drills on how to deal with possible problems — a bus that breaks down and blocks many of the bays, for example. Security and other staff will test and work out routines and procedures.

An educational campaign and open houses are planned to inform passengers about the facility and how it will affect service. A slew of new routes and other operational changes will kick in the same day that the center opens, and some of that planning is still in the works, too.

The facility itself has to be ready for prime time on opening day. After that, it will close only for a few hours a day, from about 1 to 4 a.m., allowing limited time for fixes.

Once open, it will cost RGRTA about $2.5 million to run the facility in its first year, including all staffing and operational costs, according to Coll-Gonzalez. The authority's total operating budget for this year is roughly $84 million.

The authority plans to measure the project's success partly by continuing to keep close track of ridership. Transit officials hope the changes will keep existing passengers happy while attracting new customers to give public transit a try.

Other results will be harder to measure — the attitude of a worker who doesn't have to catch a bus outdoors on a cold winter day, or a mom who has a safe place to change a baby's diaper while waiting for her ride, Carpenter said.

The city also hopes to redevelop Main Street with new parking, lighting, benches and other improvements.

Gazing at the building from a second-story balcony last week, Coll-Gonzalez saw years of planning finally taking shape.

"The physical structure is just about there," she said.

DRILEY@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/rilzd

Street changes

St. Paul Street will begin allowing two-way traffic between Cumberland and Main streets on Thursday. North Clinton Avenue also will open to two-way traffic between the same cross-streets on Friday.

Both streets have been one-way since the 1960s. The changes come in advance of the opening of the Downtown Transit Center on Nov. 28.

Also on Friday, Division Street will switch from one-way eastbound to one-way westbound. Mortimer Street, where the transit center is located, is expected to reopen to one-way traffic in early November.