The Park City Public Works Department earlier in the spring broke ground on a major expansion of its bus barn, putting up a building on the department’s Iron Horse Drive grounds that is critical to the long term functioning of the transit system.
The facility is expected to be completed in December, in time for the busiest part of the year for the bus system. Kent Cashel, the Public Works official who oversees the transit system for City Hall, said the expansion will double the amount of bus bays at the site, from approximately 30 there now to 60. He said the larger facility is expected to provide capacity for the next 30 years of transit expansion.
The construction is forecast to cost $10 million. The federal government is funding the full amount. City Hall put up the land — approximately five acres — as its match to be eligible for the funding from Washington, D.C.
The project will also double the number of maintenance bays on the grounds, from four there now to eight. Cashel said other upgrades will include more space to store tools and a fueling facility at the site. Cashel said the work will put in numerous environmental upgrades as well, such as a system to recycle water, an energy-efficient heating and cooling system and a lighting system that relies as much as possible on sunlight. City Hall in recent years has insisted on municipal projects including green elements as part of the local government’s wide-ranging environmental program.
There is space at the site if City Hall wants to put up seasonal work force housing. The housing, which was discussed during the planning stages, is not part of the current blueprints, but it could be built later. Officials say dormitory-style housing could be built there, with between 12 and 18 beds possible.
The work comes eight years after a landmark agreement between City Hall and Summit County leaders to expand bus service to the Snyderville Basin, a milestone in the local mass transit efforts. With the new routes into the Basin, the number of buses and the maintenance facilities needed to be expanded.
Leaders in Park City and Summit County agree that a bus system that runs throughout the West Side of the county reduces traffic on the Park City entryways, making the drive into and out of Park City less of a hassle. The transit system makes numerous stops in Park City and links the city to places like The Canyons, Kimball Junction and some neighborhoods in the Basin.
There has been on-and-off talk about the bus system someday further expanding to include a a route of some sort to the Salt Lake Valley and the East Side of Summit County. There are numerous commuters driving between Park City and the two places.
A February report written by Cashel and submitted to Mayor Dana Williams and the Park City Council indicated the discussions about a larger transit facility started in early 2006, and officials unsuccessfully sought a location through early 2007. Late that year, City Hall and Summit County leaders inked an agreement to jointly develop a facility at the Iron Horse locale.
The work is one of two high-dollar construction projects that City Hall has either started or could break ground on later this year. A major renovation of the Racquet Club is planned to start within a few months unless the City Council nixes the project in the upcoming budget talks. The Racquet Club work is forecast to cost nearly $10.5 million.
The activity on the Public Works Building grounds is visible from locations close to the construction fencing, but Cashel said there will not be impacts on nearby streets.