Link Transit Board Approves New 41,000 Sq. Ft. Bus Garage

Link Transit is moving forward with construction of a new bus garage.  

The Transit Board of Directors awarded a $12.6 million contract to a Cashmere contractor this week. Rimmer & Roeter Construction, Inc will build the 41,000 square foot building.  

Link Transit Maintenance Manager Ed Archer says the new garage will be needed to charge nine new electric buses they're getting next spring. 

"They're a different charger than what we are currently using," said Archer. "They're DC charging instead of AC charging. So, I currently have no chargers to be able to charge the buses we'll be receiving in March." 

The new garage at the Link Transit Maintenance Center Olds Station Maintenance Center will start charging the new buses in May of next year. It’s scheduled to be fully completed by next July. 

Archer says the new garage will be able to handle the transit's fleet when it becomes fully electrified. "It will actually house, for the future, 56 electrified vehicles, and a total of 60 vehicles inside of it," Archer said.   

Link Transit was recently awarded a $4.5 million federal grant that'll help speed the process to electrify its fleet. 

The construction of the bus garage will allow Link enough operational space to continue the Vision 2020 expansion by increasing the quality and coverage of service, according to documentation discussed at the board meeting. 

The total budget for the project is $17 million, including design and bid management and other assorted costs. The actual estimated cost will be $15.4 million, which is $1.5 million under budget.  

Included in that estimate is $500,000 the board approved for RH2 Construction Management to design the bus garage handle management of the bidding process. Link staff needed assistance because of the size and complexity of the project.