Metro News Release

For immediate release: March 12, 2009

Metro to reconstruct Southern Avenue Bus Garage

Outdated, 87-year-old garage in need of replacement

Metro is moving forward with plans to reconstruct Southern Avenue Bus Garage, one of the transit authority’s oldest and most outdated garages. The Board of Directors planning committee today authorized staff to conduct a public hearing for the reconstruction.  The Board is expected to take a final vote later this month.

Southern Avenue Bus Garage is located at 4421 Southern Ave., SE, and was originally built in 1922. Some rehabilitation work was performed in 2000, but the facility has reached the end of its useful life and is in need of replacement.

“The garage is severely outdated for the maintenance of buses and provides a poor work environment for employees,” said Milo Victoria, head of Metrobus. “A modern facility is needed to improve maintenance and service reliability.”

The new garage will be located on the existing site, which will require construction to be performed in stages and buses to be temporarily parked at an off-site location. The new maintenance building then will be constructed on the current parking lot. When maintenance activities move to the new building, the existing facility will be demolished to create space for the construction of bus parking.

The project also will require acquisition of additional, adjacent property for the construction of a facility that is compliant with modern codes and standards.

Metrobus customers who usually ride bus routes that are serviced by Southern Avenue Bus Garage will not be impacted by reconstruction of the facility. Routes will operate as normal.

Currently, 129 Metrobuses operate out of Southern Avenue Bus Garage. Once reconstruction is complete, the new facility is expected to accommodate about 215 buses.

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News release issued at 2:59 pm, March 12, 2009.