FORT SMITH — The Fort Smith Transit Department wasted no time putting its new transfer station into service Wednesday, as the first passengers boarded buses minutes after city officials opened the facility.
The 1,200-square-foot building at 200 Wheeler Ave. was completed at a cost of $750,000. Transit Department Director Ken Savage said design and construction costs were covered with federal money. The value of the land on which the station sits served as the city’s match for the federal money.
“This is a very beautiful, tasteful and accessible building that the people of Fort Smith can be proud of,” Mayor Ray Baker said during a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The station will provide shelter and a respite for passengers transferring from one of the city’s six fixed bus routes to another. The climate-controlled building has restrooms, a covered waiting area, vending machines and benches.
Construction began in late March, but an expected October opening was delayedby excessive summer rains, Savage said. The Fort Smith architectural firm Guest Reddick Architects designed the station, and Turnkey Construction Management of Van Buren was the contractor.
The Transit Department has 18 vehicles and travels about 500,000 miles annually, moving 200,000 passengers a year on the six fixed routes, four demand-response routes and one night route. The department has 22 drivers and 14 office and maintenance personnel.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 10 on 12/31/2009