Flathead County’s public transportation service, Eagle Transit, recently finished its new bus barn and updated an old garage, thanks in large part to stimulus dollars.
Eagle Transit serves as public and specialized transportation for Kalispell, Whitefish and Columbia Falls. The fleet consists of 12 vehicles, and Eagle Transit is also involved with the shuttle buses that run up and down Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park.
Dave Polanksy, program manager for the Eagle Transit, said the upgrades and new building would help further establish the transportation system in the valley.
The public transit program applied for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds when the call came for shovel-ready projects, Polanksy said. His department requested and received $980,585.
The upgrades to the old bus barn include a new vehicle lift, which can help with maintenance and most repairs, he said. Crews were also able to put in new landscaping during construction,
New outdoor lighting replaced the old fixtures, Polansky said, making the site dark-skies friendly.
The new bus garage has seven bays and a vehicle washing station. Getting a bus wash was one of the main reasons Eagle Transit went after the stimulus money, Polansky said.
“We’re excited; it allows for us to keep a cleaner fleet, take care of it right on our own property without having to go to a car wash or the county shop,” Polansky said.
John Peterson, the lead architect on the job from Architects Design Group PC in Kalispell, said the upgrades and the new washing facility also meant the bus garages would have to remove its septic system. Wastewater now flows into the city sewer system, which is a major upgrade for the site, he said.
One of the biggest bonuses of the construction was removing a natural mound of dirt in the back southeast corner of the lot, Peterson said. The dirt was moved next door to the Flathead High School Vo-Ag field, and used to fill in a shallow point. Now that the area is leveled out, the students can farm it, Peterson said.
Crews were also able to improve Eagle Transit’s access from the main road, Peterson noted.
Polansky said he felt a sense of success for the project because it was completed with local companies, including general contractors Hammerquist Casalegno.
“It did exactly what it was supposed to do – it put local people to work,” Polansky said.
The new vehicle hoist will be able to accommodate the Glacier Park shuttle buses, Polanksy said, and allow for pre- and post-season maintenance and cleaning. The seven bays in the new garage will provide indoor parking to a fleet that had started to outgrow its old bus barn.
“We were overflowing now we have some area to grow into,” Polansky said.
Keeping the buses inside will cut down on the wear and tear they would get from the element if parked outside, he said. This also ties in to the vehicle wash and lift, Polanksy noted, because all of the new features allow the fleet to stay cleaner and in better shape.
“It’s coming together quite well. If I have happy drivers I’m going to get better customer service,” Polansky said. “They’re proud of their vehicles and they’re proud of their shop.”