Bus-A-Move

Southern Nevada’s RTC Maintenance Complex Shifts into High Gear

By Tony Illia

Las Vegas’ new bus maintenance facility is a collection of seven different structures on a 34.2-acre site. The $72.6 million project is scheduled for completion next summer.

The $72.6 million RTC bus maintenance complex consists of seven different buildings, including tilt-wall and block construction. (Photo courtesy K.C. Errett/Sletten)

Las Vegas is constantly on the move, and it’s the Regional Transportation Commission’s job to make sure people reach their destinations.

RTC ridership has grown along with Southern Nevada, increasing by 40.8% since 2002. About 63.8 million people took the bus in 2007.

To keep up with the growth, the RTC is building a $72.6 million bus maintenance center in the southwest valley that will greatly improve bus operations with quick access to nearby Interstate 215 Beltway and Interstate 15.

Currently, the RTC has only one 13-year-old bus maintenance facility in the north valley and another temporary facility for fleet care and upkeep. Meantime,>> the RTC has 364 vehicles and 3,706 bus stops that service more than 190,000 passengers daily throughout the Las Vegas valley. Its fleet travels a combined 49,000 mi a day over a 266-sq-mi area.

Sletten Construction of Nevada Inc., Las Vegas, is the general contractor on the new facility, located at 5165 W. Sunset Road.

“We’re anticipating that up to 250 fixed route buses and 50 paratransit vehicles will operate out of the Sunset facility,” says Mark Wells, RTC’s assistant general manager of transit. “It’s pretty much a one-stop shop from driver training to dispatching to vehicle maintenance and inspections.”

The development is a construction smorgasbord with seven buildings spread across 34.2 acres.

“Each building has its own profile and characteristics, and some have different structural systems as well,” says Damir Sutevski, project architect with Las Vegas-based C&B Nevada, who designed the project. “It makes it a unique project to work on, and for an architect, it requires full attention.”

The collection of structures is carefully arranged for maximum circulation since roughly 400 to 500 drivers a day will enter and exit the site. Buildings must additionally allow enough room for the buses’ 60-ft turning radii. Structural building types vary from concrete tilt-wall to block to steel framing.

“Originally, the whole facility was designed for concrete tilt-up panels, but during the design phase, price escalations were so high that we decided to use different designs to possibly bring the cost down,” Sutevski says. “The project started at $66 million but ballooned up to $100 million.”

advertisement

C&B Nevada simplified the roof and mechanical systems, while using cost-conscious building materials where appropriate.

The maintenance building uses concrete tilt-wall panels with a steel frame because of its size and function. The 82,630-sq-ft structure, which houses buses that weigh an average of 60,000 lbs, consists of 72 panels averaging 30 by 30 ft in size, with the largest weighing 100,000 lbs. The 8.5-in.-thick panels were cast onsite.

The 28-ft-wide by 140-ft-long building has 24 roll-up doors as well as 22 floor lifts and an 8-ft-deep drive-up grease pit. The 24-ft-tall, single-level structure rests atop foundation footings and grade beams. It has two roof-mounted 150-ton cranes. A small, separate block storage building houses bus parts and equipment.

“Coordinating all the equipment being used in the maintenance building has required careful planning and attention,” says Mike Collins, Sletten’s project manager. “There is a little bit of everything on this project.”

The fare-retrieval building is a simple block structure. The single-story, 1,000-sq-ft space contains change sorting and counting equipment. The RTC saw $47.5 million in fare revenue from its fixed bus routes in 2007.

The 7,600-sq-ft bus-wash building is constructed with masonry block but boasts a 10-in.-thick concrete roof that’s intended to prevent rusting from the building’s constant water exposure. There are four wash bays and two scissor lifts for cleaning underneath the chassis. The water is recycled and reused onsite.

Fueling operations are housed in a 2,800-sq-ft block structure, with three adjacent 10,000-gallon, above-ground diesel tanks. There are also two 2,000-gallon tanks for compressed natural gas for the busses that use it as fuel.

The RTC goes through 20,000 gallons of fuel daily fleetwide. When drivers pull into a fueling island, their information is read electronically via a windshield barcode that records fuel totals, time and date.

The bus maintenance building, which measures 28-ft-wide by 140-ft-long, will have two roof mounted 150-ton cranes. (Photo by Tony Illia)

The project’s administration center is a steel-framed structure sheathed in glass and metal paneling. The single-level, 23,625-sq-ft building contains classrooms and workrooms, offices and conference rooms, and drug testing and storage areas.

The compound is completely screened from public view with a block wall that encircles the site perimeter. It varies in height from 8 ft to 22 ft. In all, the project will require approximately 600,000 CMU blocks, with Las Vegas-based The Masonry Group as the masonry contractor.

A security guard building controls site access. There are roughly 500 surface parking spots for vehicles as well as 66 more for buses. Bus parking features jumbo shade canopies that resemble oversized umbrellas. A steel column comes out of the ground to support up to a 45-sq-ft fabric awning.

The bus maintenance facility is scheduled to debut in July 2009.

Key Players
Owner: Regional Transportation Commission of Nevada
General Contractor: Sletten Construction of Nevada Inc.
Architect: C&B Nevada
Engineer: Jacobs (parent company of Carter & Burgess)
Earthwork/Paving: Southern Nevada Paving
Masonry: The Masonry Group
Electrical: GSL Electric
Mechanical: Interstate Mechanical
Plumbing: Universal Plumbing
Concrete: Sletten (self-performed); Stewart & Sundell Concrete (curb and gutter)

Halfway to the Home Stretch >>

Riding the Rails >>

Click here for next Feature Story >>