Ribbon cutting set for new BAT transfer station

Charles Boothe, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
·2 min read
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Jun. 22—BLUEFIELD — The official ribbon-cutting of the new Larlyn Patrick McKinney Bluefield Area Transit Regional Transfer Station is set for Thursday.

Bluefield City Manager Cecil Marson said last week Gov. Jim Justice may attend the event and on Wednesday the city confirmed Justice is scheduled to be here.

The 2,000-sq.-ft. facility, located beside Flowers Bakery on Bluefield Avenue, will offer BAT riders an indoor facility, complete with heated and cooled restrooms and waiting areas. This will be the first indoor facility for riders, who have previously depended on open-air shelters with no amenities.

Spearheaded by the city, the $2.7 million project has been years in the making and Justice also attended the official ground breaking event early last year.

"There have been a lot of people turning the wheels on this; doing amazing work to make this day a reality," Justice said at the time. "It's unbelievable how important, how vital Bluefield Area Transit is to this community."

The Federal Transit Administration, West Virginia Department of Transportation, West Virginia Division of Public Transit and City of Bluefield cooperated to plan and fund the facility. The transfer station is on a former Brownfield industrial site.

Bill Robinson, director of the state Division of Public Transit, said at the groundbreaking a transfer station in Bluefield was necessary to keep riders out of the weather while waiting to transfer to another bus or to shelter Greyhound bus passengers. The facility will also handle natural gas vehicles.

Riders had for years used an open-air shelter on Princeton Avenue with no amenities to transfer and board buses. That kiosk has been closed and a temporary hub is located at the old Gulf station on Bluefield Avenue across from City Hall.

BAT serves Mercer and McDowell counties, including the community of Welch.

Regular routes extend from Athens through Princeton and Bluefield, to Welch, Gary and Premier in McDowell County. Scheduled bus service is available to all of these areas, Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Swope Construction of Bluefield constructed the state-of-the-art facility.

— Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com

Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com