Windsor breaks ground on $32.5-million transit garage expansion
The two-year project will add 46,000 square feet to the facility, which has been operating beyond capacity for many years.
WINDSOR — Windsor has started construction on a $32.5-million expansion of its overcrowded transit maintenance and operations garage.
"Working collaboratively with our provincial and federal partners, we’ve advanced significant infrastructure and modernization investments," said Kieran McKenzie, chair of Transit Windsor’s board of directors, at a Thursday groundbreaking.
The city is spending $11.3 million on the project, with the federal government contributing $15.3 million and the province $12.7 million. Some of that money has already been spent on improvements at the facility.
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The transit garage opened in 1979 and was designed for a much smaller bus fleet and fewer employees. A city council report four years ago said the facility had been operating beyond its capacity for "many years" and is "deficient" when it comes to space for operations, vehicle servicing, maintenance, and staff amenities.
The report also noted the garage lacked room for appropriate accessibility, office space, and employee parking.
Teams from Oscar Construction and Architecttura Inc. have begun work on approximately 46,000 square feet in building additions to expand the bus storage bay and maintenance area. Construction is expected to take two years.
"Our government understands that the people of Windsor deserve access to world-class infrastructure for transportation and transit services," said MPP Andrew Dowie.
Dowie said the additional space at the transit centre "will ensure that we are getting buses back on the road faster," and will lead to "fewer service disruptions."
In a written statement read out during the groundbreaking, federal Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Gregor Robertson said the garage expansion "will ultimately improve the public transit system, create a safer, more reliable, and efficient way to travel around the Windsor community."
Robertson's statement, read by city commissioner Jelena Payne, said investing in such infrastructure "provides communities with proper infrastructure to support their growth and public transit needs."
"We could not do these types of projects without strong support from federal and provincial partners," said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.
Dilkens said the city has made $100 million in upgrades to the transit system in the last four years, including moving "a little more into the digital age with things like the Umo Fare Management system."
The transit garage expansion project also includes upgrades to building systems, improved bus service bays, the replacement of bus wash and vehicle fuelling systems, and parking lot, sidewalk, and laneway replacement.
Other improvements are site lighting and control upgrades; electrical service and distribution improvements; landscaping, planting, and site restoration, and new gates and fencing.
McKenzie said it takes courage for a municipality to continue to lean into its plans in a time of other challenges, including economic uncertainty.
With files from Windsor Star