A bird’s eye view of the construction site. Metro’s Support Services Center is in the back right corner.

Here’s the latest on Division 13 from Metro:

Construction of Division 13, a state-of-the-art bus maintenance facility adjacent to Union Station, has recently begun. The project is estimated to take two years to complete and is partially funded by a $52.5 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

“I am pleased that federal funds are being matched by Metro to build a state-of-the-art bus facility in my Congressional District.  I am encouraged that this new bus division will enhance the mobility for thousands of my constituents and thousands of other commuters in Los Angeles County,” shared U.S. Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard. “The construction of this bus division will both promote the continued growth of mass transit in our region and provide good paying jobs to hundreds of construction workers,” Rep. Roybal-Allard added.

The $72 million construction project will consist of a multi-level parking garage, a maintenance building, bus fueling, bus washing, chassis wash and non-revenue vehicle washing, non-revenue vehicle fueling and maintenance and transportation offices and support areas. Construction of Division 13 is anticipated to generate more than 1,200 direct and indirect jobs. The completed project also will set an example for sustainable design by using energy efficient and environmentally responsible building methods to meet Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standards.

“In addition to replacing Metro’s entire fleet of old diesel buses with new compressed natural gas buses, we are now constructing this new LEED Gold standard bus facility to house 200 buses,” said Metro Board Chair and Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. Completion of the facility is expected in the summer of 2014. 

The facility design will incorporate an exemplary system of storm water reclamation and reuse for a bus wash system utilizing reclaimed storm water and chassis and non-revenue vehicle wash systems utilizing 100 percent recycled water. Low maintenance native vegetation will be incorporated as  part of a green roof to combat storm water run-off and the urban heat island effect. Division 13 also is part of Metro’s Support Services Center, which has 6,720 individual solar panels installed to generate 1.2 megawatt, or 1,200 kilowatts of renewable, emission-free power.

The project also includes three-axis lift systems for accessing roof mounted equipment on buses, mobile work platforms, high-density stacking systems and carousel and vertical retrieval modules for parts.

The project site is located on the northeast and southeast corners at the intersection of Vignes Street and Cesar E. Chavez Avenue.

For more information, visit metro.net/projects.

Some photos of construction and renderings after the jump!

A rendering of the completed Division 13/

Another rendering of Division 13.