Design is well underway for the Valencia County Transit Facility (VCTF), the soon-to-be home of Rio Metro’s bus services in the county. Rio Metro has been hard at work with the Village of Los Lunas and consultants Bohannan-Huston and Studio Southwest Architects to design an inviting facility for our staff, drivers and the public near the intersection of NM 6 and NM 47.
The centerpiece of the VCTF will be an 8,000-square foot office building styled after the metal-roofed agricultural buildings found up and down NM 47. This building will house the dispatchers and supervisors who coordinate rides for the public and make sure our bus routes and dial-a-ride services run smoothly throughout the day. It will also provide Rio Metro’s drivers with the locker, exercise, and break rooms that can make a hectic day a bit easier to manage.
The surrounding site will feature a storage building to house spare parts and supplies; parking for buses, staff, visitors; drainage ponds and swales; and landscaping. Fencing, automated gates, cameras, and lighting will also help deter theft and vandalism - issues that Rio Metro has dealt with in the past.
Inside and out, Rio Metro will also incorporate energy efficiency improvements in pursuit of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Electricity-generating solar panels, high-efficiency heating and cooling units, water-wise fixtures, rainwater-harvesting landscaping, and more, will reduce the VCTF’s environmental footprint and help conserve the Village’s resources.
Rio Metro looks forward to breaking ground in early 2022 and completing construction before the end of the year. In the next five to ten years, Rio Metro intends to round out the VCTF by adding a maintenance building, bus wash, and just the right fueling system to power its fleet of the future.
To learn more about the VCTF, including monthly updates, graphics, and history, click here to visit the project page.