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Division 13: LA County Metro's new environmentally friendly bus facility
Bus fueling stations at Los Angeles County Metro's Division 13 facility.
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Los Angeles County Metro
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Los Angeles County Metro's new bus maintenance facility, Division 13.
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Los Angeles County Metro
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Los Angeles County Metro
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Los Angeles County Metro's new bus maintenance facility on the edge of downtown L.A. was officially introduced on Monday, though it's been operating since Feb. 1, according to a Metro press release. The facility, named Division 13, is set to receive a Gold LEED designation for its high level of environmentally-friendly design.
Among it's environmentally-friendly features:
- A 275,000 gallon cistern and pump used for reusing rainwater to wash buses, as well as other uses
- Space for 200 Compress Natural Gas (CNG) buses
- Skylights in combination with bright colored paint to reflect light and reduce the need for electricity
- A rooftop garden with native California plants, used to counter storm water run-off and the urban heat island effect
It took three years and $120 million to build. When construction first began in 2012, Metro estimated that it would take two years, according to a post from Metro's The Source blog. It was expected to be completed in summer 2014.
A structure collapse during its construction in 2014 forced the project to pause for an investigation to be completed. No one was injured when the second story of the parking structure tumbled down.
Division 13 sits on 7.4 acres, according to the release. Metro notes that that's considered small for a facility like this.
"L.A. Metro worked with architect RLN Designs to efficiently use the limited space. The finished product achieves this goal," L.A. Metro Board First Vice Chair John Fasana said in the release.
Metro chair and L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said in the release that maintenance buildings can be "models of great design and sustainability."
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