Welland Transit spending nearly $15-million to renovate and add to operations facility

At just shy of $15-million, a redesigned Welland Transit operations centre will essentially be a new facility once work gets underway on the building at 75 Federal Rd. DAVE JOHNSON / TORSTAR

By Dave Johnson
Courtesy of The Welland Tribune

At just shy of $15-million, a redesigned Welland Transit operations centre will essentially be a new facility, says manager Ed Zahra.

“The redesigned layout is an enhancement to the current facility to meet the demands currently required and possible expansion,” Zahra said during a presentation at a special council meeting Tuesday.

City council approved a new $15-million facility in 2019, but the cost increased to nearly $37-million for a 71,000-square-foot building.

The maintenance area alone for that proposed facility would have cost $13-million. Under that proposal, demolishing the current building, constructed in 1972 at 75 Federal Rd. would have run at nearly $500,000.

In the redesign, the 30,000-square-foot facility will see a 12,500-square-foot, three-bay maintenance and stores area costing $5-million.

Zahra said with a revamped bus storage area, with an addition, 12 buses will be stored inside the building, keeping them from the cold and inclement weather.

Buses will be able to pull straight in for maintenance, including an area to take care of small things like filling wiper fluid, fixing mirrors and other quick repairs.

“There will be seamless movement around the yard,” said Zahra, which will eliminate safety concerns around vehicles reversing on site.

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