New Transportation Hub Will Improve Public Transportation Services and Operations
May 20, 2025 – Glenwood Springs, CO — Encore Electric partnered with the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA), the second largest transit agency in Colorado, to expand the regional transit center located in Glenwood Springs. The Glenwood Springs Maintenance Facility (GMF) is a vital transportation hub for many mountain towns like Aspen, Basalt, Eagle County, and Carbondale. To meet the growing demand for public transportation, address operational deficiencies, and support a transition to zero-emission buses, Encore Electric provided design-assist services and all the electrical work for the expansion.
The $42 million RFTA project expanded the original fueling and washing system to accommodate three types of fuel (natural gas, diesel, and hydrogen) into one indoor building. The expansion also included adding a Bus Barn, an indoor heated bus storage area that can house up to 60 buses. The Bus Barn is an environmentally friendly step towards zero-emission buses, allowing for electric buses to be used and stored during the cold winter months.
Working in the mountainous terrain of western Colorado, the Encore Electric team ran into several challenges, including frigid temperatures in the winter that froze the ground and the infamous red dirt in Glenwood Springs, which is difficult to compress and compact. Yet, the biggest challenge in the tough terrain was a 45-foot hill separating the existing RFTA building from the new Bus Barn which needed to be connected to the same system.
“Not only did we connect the buildings’ fire alarm and power systems, but we also had to interconnect all of that data,” said Encore Electric Project Manager Patrick Wirkus. “To connect the two buildings, they added a set of stairs that went all the way up the 45-foot hill. We got creative and used that stairway to run all of our conduit.”
“We have four, four-inch conduits connecting to that stairwell. It’s actually pretty impressive,” said Doug Spada, Encore Electric assistant project manager. “We put as much underground as we could. I would say about 70% of it we got underground.”
In addition to the Bus Barn and fueling and washing system, the RFTA project included adding a second-level operations facility with a dispatch suite, reception space for visitors, a driver’s room, office spaces, and locker rooms. To provide All Things Power, Technology, and Energy®, Encore Electric construction and technology solutions teams joined forces.
The Encore Electric construction team handled all the electrical work for the project, including all power, fire alarm, and lighting. The Encore Electric Technology Solutions team completed all low-voltage work, including network, security, access control, and AV cabling, as well as installing wireless access points, setting up backbone fiber connections, and wiring specialized areas like the wash bay, fueling bay, parking lot cameras, and vending machine point of sale systems.
“It was definitely a One Encore type of mentality out there,” said Technology Solutions Project Manager Ben Bohl. “Having the Technology Solutions team that I had and the field team was really, really beneficial to pushing this one across the finish line. Especially in those last few months, we ramped up and had a solid crew that was able to focus on the task at hand and get everything finished.”
Another unique aspect of the RFTA maintenance facility was the Federal Transit Authority (FTA) Buy America Act that mandated all iron, steel, and manufactured products needed to be made or built inside of America.
“It was also right after COVID and a lot of our lead times were really extended, as far as light fixtures, electrical equipment, and electrical panels. Some of the lead times were the biggest I had ever seen,” Wirkus said. “Before COVID, what was normally 8-12 weeks was extended to 60 weeks.”
Despite the mountainous terrain and strict product requirements, the Encore Electric teams worked together to complete this community-focused project. The original GMF was built in 2002 and designed to store 34 buses, but ridership has increased by 60% since then. The redesigned RFTA facility will better serve the community and is expected to support a 25% increase in ridership over the next 20 years.
“We couldn’t be successful if we didn’t have a great team with a very solid leadership in place,” said Spada. “We had a very strong team that worked well together.”