What: Tahoma School District’s new transportation center, on Petrovitsky Road near Shadow Lake Elementary School.

The latest: Work on the first phase of construction is nearing completion according to district spokesman Kevin Patterson. “We’re nearly done with site work, which includes paving, fencing, stormwater drainage and retention, and the access road. It should be complete by mid-December.”

Next: The second phase is construction of the bus maintenance building and the dispatch/administration building.

Timeline: The full project is expected to be done in time for the start of the 2009-10 school year, Patterson said.

Other details: Mountain West Contractors has done the work on the project’s first phase for a contract amount of $1.4 million. School buses currently live at the old Tahoma Elementary School site, which is also home to the district’s maintenance staff. The new transportation center will have room for the buses, new maintenance facilities, office space and even training.

Kris Hill, staff writer