Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 26, 1990 TAG: 9006260326
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Roanoke always has been closely identified with transportation because it was the headquarters for the Norfolk & Western Railway for many years before it merged with the Southern Railway, said Roland Mross.
Mross, one of the speakers at the dedication of the new operations center, said the new building and the transit system are another chapter in the city's transportation history.
John Milliken, Virginia secretary of transportation, said the new operations center is an excellent example of the federal, state and local partnership on transportation issues.
Federal and state money covered most of the cost for the facility. Valley Metro received more than $5 million in federal and state funds.
The city's share was covered by the donation of the site under the funding formula.
Milliken, who also spoke at the dedication, said mass transit is one of the solutions to congested highways and streets.
The new operations center at Campbell Avenue and 12th Street Southeast will provide better working conditions and enable the bus company to operate more efficiently, officials said.
Valley Metro moved into the new center in May, but the dedication had been delayed.
The operations center will enable mechanics to work on buses during the winter without having to open outside doors every time a bus is brought in for fuel or regular servicing.
On cold winter days, Valley Metro's mechanics have shivered and their hands have become almost numb as they tried to repair buses while wind blew through the open doors in the old garage.
Because of cramped quarters at the garage, there was no separate enclosed space for mechanics to do maintenance work and make major repairs on buses. They had to work in the same area where buses get fueled and washed.
Valley Metro could squeeze its fleet of 38 buses into the old garage at night to protect them from the rain and snow. But the buses had to be taken out of the one-story building each morning before mechanics started to work.
The bus company's administrative and office staff was cramped into small, dimly lit cubicles with barely enough space to work.
The operations center has two stories or levels: one for fueling and regular servicing of buses and a second level for garage and maintenance operations. Administrative offices are on the second level.
by CNB