Washington County Transportation Authority purchases 12 acres for $48 million project
The Washington County Transportation Authority (WCTA) recently purchased 12 acres of land in South Strabane Township to construct a $48 million storage and maintenance facility for its buses.
Sheila Gombita, executive director of the WCTA, said the agency closed on the property at 375 Berry Road on Oct. 28 for $3.2 million. That address is the current site of Tower Golf and Amish Touch. The purchase price is not factored in to the overall cost of the project.
“This property was listed for sale in the summer of last year. We had discovered it a couple of months later,” Gombita said, adding that Tower Golf and Amish Touch will continue to operate until at least March of next year.
Chris Potts, owner of Tower Golf and Amish Touch, did not return a phone call Wednesday afternoon.
According to Gombita, the facility is expected to be completed by the fall of 2025. It will cover 88,000 square feet and provide space for the transportation authority to store all of its buses, as well as maintenance bays, an automatic bus wash system, and fueling stations.
“There is going to be some office space for operations staff. Our administration facilities are still going to be housed where we are at right now, at the Chestnut Street office,” Gombita said.
Funding for the facility will come mostly from the Federal Transit Administration and state Department of Transportation, according to Gombita.
Though the WCTA owns its vehicles, Gombita explained that they use two subcontractors to operate them and who currently are tasked with storing the buses.
“One rents a space, one owns a space. They are limited in their ability to store vehicles indoors,” Gombita said. “We want to maintain our assets appropriately, and we are not able to do that right now.”
She added that the WCTA also does not currently have a place to store large quantities of fuel, and that the new facility will enable the agency to buy fuel in bulk. Gombita said they will also be able to implement additional safety and security measures.
“We will be able to coordinate the service in one location,” Gombita said.