Integrated Bus Maintenance Facility to receive much-needed facelift

Face-lifts are planned for the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada's 14-year-old Integrated Bus Maintenance Facility thanks to a grant from the Department of Transportation's State of Good Repair Program.

The commission was awarded $1.75 million it plans to use toward $2.5 million earmarked to repair and upgrade the 36-acre facility in North Las Vegas, said Director of Engineering Services-Capital Projects David Swallow.

The RTC launches many fixed-route and paratransit services from the facility and conducts maintenance, fueling, washing and parking for a portion of its fleet.

A second RTC transportation facility was built two years ago at Sunset Road and Decatur Boulevard, said Swallow.

Swallow helped seek the grant funds, which are utilized to upgrade or modernize existing transfer facilities to make them more efficient, he said. The Integrated Bus Maintenance Facility, 3210 Citizen Ave., opened in 1997.

"We do maintain our facilities very well, but these are major cost items," Swallow said. "After a number of years of maintenance, some of these things got to the point we can't use them anymore."

A vehicle volume of about 225 routes moves through the facility each day, said Tracy Bower, director of government affairs for the commission.

Regular wear and tear led to the need for updates, she added.

"It's like your home after 15 years," Bower said. "You do have to make some improvements."

Plans include repairs to vehicle lifts and pavement in the parking lot and upgrades to the heating and air conditioning to be complemented by on-site renewable energy generation, Swallow said.

The RTC intends to use solar power akin to that at its Bonneville Transit Center, 101 E. Bonneville Ave.

A security system also is planned.

The project is slated to cost $2.5 million. The commission will cover the rest of its financial needs for the project, Swallow said.

"Typically with the federal program, we have to provide some local match," he said.

The grant pends project approval from the Federal Transit Administration, Swallow said.

From there, the commission will seek construction bids for its plans in phases next year, he added.

For more information, visit rtcsnv.com or call 228-7433.

Contact Centennial and North Las Vegas View reporter Maggie Lillis at mlillis@viewnews.com or 477-3839.