Island Transit will soon have a new headquarters and elected officials and county leaders will be on hand to help celebrate the start of construction.

A groundbreaking ceremony for Island Transit’s 43,000-square-foot headquarters building is scheduled for Tuesday, April 10, 11 a.m. at the Island Transit campus located north of the intersection of Highway 20 and Parker Road.

US Rep. Rick Larsen, State Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, Island Transit Board of Directors Chairman Bob Clay and Deputy Regional Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration Linda Gehrke are scheduled to speak during the ceremony.

Island Transit recently awarded a $17.18 million contract to Everson-based Tiger Construction to build the new facility. Construction is expected to be completed in 2013.

Transit officials have been working for years to find funding to expand  their current facility. Their efforts finally paid off when the Federal Transit Authority awarded Island Transit $17.92 million through the “State of Good Repair Program.”