Noblesville Schools is inviting the community to join them at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 23 for a dedication and tour of their new transportation center. The new center is located at 19790 Hague Road adjacent to West Middle School. It replaces the previous location on Field Drive near Noblesville High School.
“Our former transportation center was built in 1978 when Noblesville Schools served approximately 4,000 students and couldn’t provide the space we need today to serve over 10,000 students,” said Beth Niedermeyer, superintendent of Noblesville Schools. “Our new facility significantly increases capacity, providing room we need for our bus fleet, maintenance bays, office management, meeting space, driver parking and storage.”
Transportation staff relocated to the new Hague Road location in January and bus routes have been running from there since school resumed following winter break.
The new location was chosen because of its accessibility for bus routes and its infrastructure design. It was also a cost savings for the district because they already owned the land. The location next to West Middle School will also help address the parking shortage at that school, providing West event visitors additional parking options.
The design was crafted with the community in mind, incorporating a maximum set-back off the road and landscaping buffers to address any sight or noise concerns from neighbors. Traffic impact was explored with the City of Noblesville and the Indiana Department of Transportation with no noted concerns.
The $10.5 million cost of the construction project was financed through construction bonds, with no increased tax burden for residents and no referendum dollars being spent on the project.
The effort initially kicked off in July 2016 with a public project and preliminary determination hearing. A video of the public hearing on the center can be found at noblesvilleschools.org under the school board tab.