The Ohio Department of Transportation’s District 1 has opened a maintenance garage in Ottawa, Ohio, following a Monday afternoon ceremony in which an ODOT snowplow cut the ribbon. LimaOhio.com reported that the new facility at 1420 N. Locust St. cost $12.7 million and sits on 22.3 acres.
Buehrer Group Architecture of Maumee designed the site, and ACI Const. Co. of Findlay built it, according to the report. The garage replaces a smaller 1979 building at 11th Street and state Route 65. District 1 Deputy Director Chris Hughes said the project had been discussed for years and described the older site as too small for the department’s growing fleet.
The new complex covers more than 50,000 square feet, the report said. It includes a 5,402-square-foot maintenance and wash bay with three bays, plus a 22,916-square-foot truck storage area. A salt building of 8,000 square feet can hold 4,000 tons, and five brine tanks hold 12,500 gallons in total, the article said. Putnam County Transportation Manager Paul Lehman, who has worked for ODOT for 27 1/2 years, said the department went from two tandem trucks to nine trucks without gaining space. Each truck represents nearly $150,000, and the new building allows crews to wash and store equipment indoors, the report said.
ODOT District 1 said the county garage has 22 full-time employees responsible for 420 lane miles, 85 bridges and 650 culverts. Hughes also noted that the district’s vactor truck, used to clean underground infrastructure, serves northwest Ohio.