LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — The Allen County Regional Transit Authority is nearing completion of a major expansion and renovation project that will nearly double its maintenance garage while improving its ability to service buses for years to come.
Allen County commissioners joined RTA board members Tuesday for a tour of the upgraded facility during the agency's monthly meeting. The project includes an 18,000-square-foot addition and renovations to the existing garage space.
The expanded facility features additional maintenance bays, a larger parts and tool room, increased parking capacity and a new drive-through automatic bus wash station. Construction lasted more than two years, with contractors completing the work while allowing the transit system to remain fully operational.
"We had to still be up and running. So it was like working around each other for the two little over 2 years as opposed to, hey, they would close off a section and work on it and we'd get over there and then back and forth. But it was able to, they did a great job keeping us up and running, but also getting the stuff done," said RTA Executive Director Brian Wildermuth.
Allen County Commissioner Cory Noonan said the improvements will help extend the life of the agency's fleet while supporting public transportation throughout the region.
"Obviously they are maintaining a lot of buses and this facility right here helps us, you know, get those buses to extend the life of them. You know, you We've got the federal government and the state government providing the majority of the funding for our regional transit locally through fares, ridership, and there's some local dollars that comes through the sales tax that helps to assist," Noonan said.
During construction, crews made an unexpected discovery while excavating for new fuel tanks. Human remains were uncovered from what was once Tanner Street Cemetery, Lima's first cemetery.
A total of 16 burials were unearthed during the project, including nine with human skeletal remains. According to an archaeological monitoring and mitigation report, the recovered remains included four juveniles, two adult females and three adult males.
The report notes that one of the adult males has an estimated age that could be consistent with Revolutionary War soldier Pvt. Elijah Stites. While researchers were unable to positively identify the individual, the report states that it cannot rule out the possibility that the remains belong to Stites.
