The Pontiac Transportation Center was an intermodal station located in Pontiac, Michigan, opened in 1983 and demolished in 2008, that served both buses and passenger rail service.
Construction of the building began in the late 1970s, funded by a US$3 million loan from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), and the building was opened in May 1983, serving both buses and a commuter rail service to Detroit.[1][2] Within six months, however, the commuter rail service was canceled, leaving the center to serve only three buses a day.[1] In addition, by 1985 structural deficencies were already apparent, with interior surfaces showing water damage.[1] In 1991, a pedestrian bridge between the transportation center and an office building across the street was opened, though it was closed within two years due to lack of use.[1] Amtrak began serving the facility with its Wolverine service in 1992, the same year that the Southeast Michigan Authority for Regional Transportation, a local bus operator, stopped serving the transportation center.[1]
In 2002, it was announced that the building suffered from substandard construction, and city officials said that it should be demolished.[2] In 2005, the city and the MDOT signed an agreement whereby the building would be transferred to the MDOT, which would take responsibility for demolishing it and constructing a replacement, and the construction loan, never paid back by the city, would be written off.[1] In summer 2008, demolition began on the staion building, with the skywalk to follow; the project, estimated to cost $400,000, was to be completed by the end of the year.[2]
The facility was a two story building, with the first story constructed of scored concrete and the second of brick veneer.[3] Original plans called for a restaurant to be built on the second floor.[1] A small glass-covered pavilion was also built into the structure.[3]