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Buses operated by Kanawha County Schools are parked at the bus garage in South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024.
CHRIS DORST | Gazette-Mail
Kanawha County Schools will soon consolidate and upgrade its school transportation infrastructure with the construction of two new bus garages.
On Thursday, the Kanawha County Board of Education voted to enter into design contracts for the new facilities, which will replace two existing garages and a third that was previously condemned.
One garage will be located at Riverside High School in Belle, replacing the East Bank garage, which Superintendent Tom Williams said has been condemned. The other will be built in St. Albans on the site of the recently closed McKinley Middle School, 3000 Kanawha Terrace, and neighboring Weimer Elementary at 3040 Kanawha Terrace, and will consolidate the St. Albans and South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä bus garages into one central location.
“We’re in desperate need of a new one,†Williams said, referring to the East Bank facility. “This has been planned for some time now and we’ve had money put back in permanent improvement funds specifically for this.â€
The garage at Riverside is tentatively planned for the gravel lot between the school’s baseball and football fields.
McKinley Middle held its final day of classes on June 2 after the board voted last fall to consolidate it with Hayes Middle. Williams said repurposing the former school site for transportation use will also help revitalize the surrounding area.
“I know this board does not want to leave McKinley like St. Albans Junior High was left — as an eyesore in the middle of town,†he said. “I think the city would like to have the gym, but you all would be able to tear down most of the building and leave the gym intact for the city to take. That’s the property that the bus garage and parking would be on.â€
Both garage projects will be designed by Chapman Technical Group, which is based in St. Albans. The board aims to put additional parts of the project out for bid this fall.
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