Ground was broken last week for a $2 million Kaua’i County bus maintenance facility which officials say will save the county $56,000 a year by consolidating The Kaua’i Bus operations from three locations to one. Office functions are in the
Ground was broken last week for a $2 million Kaua’i County bus maintenance facility which officials say will save the county $56,000 a year by consolidating The Kaua’i Bus operations from three locations to one.
Office functions are in the Historic County Building in Lihu’e, while the bus base and maintenance yard are in two separate, leased locations in Puhi.
The site for the new single facility is near Vidinha Stadium along Kapule Highway, part of a 20-acre parcel that will eventually also be the homes of the Kaua’i Police Department, county Civil Defense emergency operations center, prosecuting attorney and a new state courthouse.
Shioi Construction Inc. is the general contractor for the bus project, which will include a parking area for all 40 buses in the fleet, as well as offices and the maintenance shop.
The project is for a total of $2,054,000, with approximately $1.6 million earmarked for construction, $130,000 for land acquisition, $128,000 for planning and design, $100,000 for road work, and $60,000 for project management through the county’s Community Assistance County Housing Agency.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) put up 80 percent of the project funding, with the state and county supplying the rest. Work is expected to be completed by April 2001.
Back in 1993, a few months after Hurricane ‘Iniki, U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye (D-Hawai’i) helped secure $1.75 million in FTA capital assistance funds for a new maintenance facility for the island’s public transportation system, which at that time was known as “The ‘Iniki Express.” In April 1997, the county submitted the grant paperwork to FTA. A year later, the county housing agency was given the green light to handle project management for the maintenance facility, utilizing current staff.
In April last year, the Honolulu architecture firm of Kimura Ybl & Associates was hired as the design and engineering consultant, and in June this year, the project went out to bid. The contract was awarded to Shioi last month.
The project is two buildings, explained Mattie Yoshioka, director of the county Offices of Community Assistance. One building will house the repair shop, and the other will be for administration and dispatch, she said.
The Kaua’i Bus employs 47 people, 35 full time.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
