A new bus operations, maintenance, and administration facility will be housed in the historic and former Denver and Rio Grande railroad yard

Utah Transit Authority – Depot District Operations and Maintenance Facility

Utah Transit Authority (UTA) wanted to create an innovative administration, operations, maintenance, and fueling facility for their growing fleet of clean air vehicles—since 1972, UTA had been operating from a central bus garage that had become outdated and undersized. They engaged us to help.

We planned and designed the new Depot District Operations and Maintenance Facility to increase functionality, safety, sustainability, and workplace well-being. Constructed on a former brownfield site, the facility features a drive-through maintenance facility concept that eliminates backing long or articulated buses into the maintenance bays. This new facility stores, operates, maintains, and services for 150 buses—50 each of battery electric, compressed natural gas, and diesel—and is built to eventually service the eventual full 250-bus fleet without additional construction or expansion.

Our design includes sustainable features such as daylighting, solar shading, energy-efficient building systems, and durable, energy-efficient building skin systems. We designed bus parking canopies to house a 1 megawatt-plus sized photovoltaic system which will eventually reduce the amount of grid energy consumed on site. These sustainable design elements not only contribute to the facility's operational efficiency but also align with UTA's commitment to the environment and reducing their carbon footprint.

Designed and constructed in phases over 10 years, this transformative facility is UTA's newest facility and serves as a model for their future facilities replacement plans.