Davenport goes bus independent

Davenport is going it alone in the city bus business.

For several decades, Davenport's CitiBus shared office and bus-garage space with MetroLINK in an aged building in Rock Island. When a $2 million-plus federal grant became available for the recently completed facility dubbed "Metro," near the Moline-Rock Island border, Davenport had a decision to make.

"We were given the option to stay or go," Davenport Public Works Director Mike Clarke said of the temporary uncertainty of continuing Davenport's contract with MetroLINK. "We did a study, even hired our own Realtor to look at locations. In the end, it was determined that operating right out of Public Works was our best option."

The best option comes with accommodations, including three new facilities that are being tied into the Public Works campus at 1200 E. 46th St. In addition to modifying the existing washing rack to fit the CitiBus fleet, the city created 11 new positions and recently began construction on a bus-maintenance area, a garage for the current 21 buses (19 are in service with two for backup) with room for more and an administrative center.

The administrative office, which faces East 46th Street at the east end of the sprawling Public Works center, was built with 80 percent federal funds and 20 percent city money. The total cost for bus-related additions to the Public Works campus is $2,523,850, including the $428,264 federal grant.

The new garage, which sits to the rear of the complex, is being built with room for growth. It also can be relocated if the city decides in the future to go with a stand-alone, all-in-one busing facility like the one in Rock Island.

"This is where the buses will come home at night," Clarke said, pointing to a foundation and the start of a perimeter wall for the garage. "When the day comes we get a federal grant for a beautiful new building, we can build it right here, and move this fabricated structure anywhere we want."

MetroLINK's new "Metro" station already is a full-service hub.

"The Operations and Maintenance Center was built to support and maintain Metros fleet of 60 buses, three Channel Cats, a number of support vehicles, and of course, approximately 125 employees," said Jennifer Garrity, manager of administration for MetroLINK.

The 150,000-square-foot building came at a cost of $37 million.

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Davenport goes bus independent