Pierce County will dedicate the Road Operations Division’s new centralized headquarters in Frederickson Saturday. A ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. will highlight the Central Maintenance Facility’s grand opening that will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m and include guided tours, displays and refreshments.
The ceremony will include County Executive John W. Ladenburg, Councilmember Roger Bush, Tacoma Port Commission Vice President Clare Petrich and Arts and Cultural Services Manager Marlette Buchanan as speakers. Public Works and Utilities Director Brian Ziegler will serve as master of ceremonies.
“The citizens of Pierce County are invited to join us for this special event,” said Road Operations Manager Bruce Wagner. “We believe those who reside in the central and south county areas will be especially interested in seeing how the facility is designed to serve as the dispatch point for both routine and emergency road maintenance operations in those areas.”
The CMF will house 135 employees and $15 million worth of heavy equipment used to maintain the county’s 3,120 miles of road network. The 160,000 square foot facility sits on a 45-acre site at 4812 196th St. E. and was constructed at a $40 million cost. Its opening allowed Pierce County Public Works and Utilities to close two road shops located at Puyallup and Elk Plain and to move staff and equipment from those facilities and also from the division’s former administration office in the Medical Examiner Building, 3619 Pacific Ave.
Wagner says the CMF provides these benefits:
— Centralized location
— More efficiency for the next generation
— Improved response times
— Lower operating costs
— Reduced supply inventories
— Better protection of fleet against the elements
— Reduced equipment inventory
— Greater staff productivity and effectiveness
— Increased staff safety
The facility includes public meeting spaces and interpretive and educational elements for public benefit. It is designed to serve as a back up emergency operations center for the Department of Emergency Management.
The CMF consists of an administration building, equipment services building, two vehicle storage buildings and a sand/salt storage building. A new road — 196th Street East — was constructed to provide access to the site from Canyon Road; Canyon Road was extended from 192nd to 200th Street East.
The county determined nearly 15 years ago that its road shops were operationally inadequate and didn’t meet basic life-safety requirements for employees. A new facilities plan developed in 2002 determined that a new centrally located maintenance facility and satellite facilities were needed to meet the needs of the county’s expanding road network into the foreseeable future. The East County facility was built to serve the Lake Tapps/Buckley plateau area, and a West County facility is planned to serve the Key Peninsula.