Work continues on transit center

MOSES LAKE — The new Grant County Transit Authority transportation center in Moses Lake is on track to open in July.

The progress on the new building is visible from the street – bricks are creeping up the exterior walls, the final exterior insulation panels are being installed, the interior framing is complete and drywall is going up, said Brandy Heston, GTA administrative services manager.

“It’s changing every time I go out there,” she said.

The building still needs windows, and crews will be finishing the drywall and installing floors interior and exterior doors. Project completion is projected for mid-June, with the new facility opening in early July. Estimated project cost is about $3.2 million.

The two-story building will have offices and a lobby where people can wait for the bus during bad weather. That’s in addition to a bus shelter at the actual bus lane on the corner of Fifth and Division streets.

The new facility will be used by other mass-transit agencies and private transportation businesses, a concept known as “multi-modal.” The site will be available to other bus lines, including People for People, and as a taxi stop.

The site includes bus loading and unloading zones, along with the offices and parking. Bus passes will be sold there also.

Currently the transfer point – where a bus line ends and people can transfer to a new bus line – is the shelter at the Surf ‘n Slide water Park parking lot. The new multi-modal station will replace it. The water park will still be a bus stop, but not a transfer point.

Bus routes are changing also, Heston said. Bus ridership is growing, and routes are being adjusted to accommodate the new customers. Transit authority staffers held meetings in Quincy, Moses Lake and Ephrata to explain some of the changes, which will go into effect in July.

Late last year the transit authority started a weekend schedule in the Moses Lake area and added bus service between Soap Lake and Ephrata. Routes will be restructured and others added. Along with expanded service, one goal of the new schedules is to reduce the amount of time people must wait to transfer to a different bus line.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.