http://www.ncdot.org/about/board/
http://www.ncdot.gov/about/leadership/secretary.html
AppalCART and Facility Overview
SYSTEM OVERVIEW
AppalCART is the public transportation system serving the town of Boone, Watauga County and Appalachian State University. Established in January 1980 as the Watauga County Transportation Authority, AppalCART provides fixed-route, paratransit, demand-response and subscription service.
The majority of AppalCART’s ridership is on the fare-free fixed-routes serving the Appalachian State University community and the general public in the Boone area. AppalCART operates 10 routes Monday through Friday, five of which operate until 11:00 p.m., as well as three daytime routes on Saturdays and three evening routes on Sundays during spring and fall semesters at ASU. The system also offers complimentary paratransit service to individuals certified with disabilities that prevent them from using the fixed routes for certain trips.
Vehicle Fleet:
31 passenger vehicles including:
• Two hybrid 35’ transit buses that arrived in June 2011
• 15 rear-engine transit buses
• 14 rural paratransit service vehicles
FY 2011 Ridership and Operating Statistics:
• 1,352,429 passenger trips – 13% more than FY 2010 – a record for the system
• 54,326.90 hours of service – 6.8% more than FY 2010
• 725,810 miles of service – 6.9% more than FY 2010
• 176,161 miles of van service resulting in 16,148 one-way trips.
• 48,159 miles of paratransit service resulting in 14,769 trips – 31% more than FY 2010
ADMINISTRATIVE AND MAINTENANCE FACILITY
AppalCART was awarded $5.5 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to construct a 24,000 square-foot administrative/maintenance facility that will enable the rapidly growing transit system to continue to operate an efficient, reliable transportation network. A $4.1 million contract was awarded to McCarroll Construction on May 29, 2009 for the facility, which is currently being constructed on an eight-acre site owned by AppalCART off the N.C. 105 Bypass.
The facility is anticipated to obtain LEED Silver certification and currently has enough points to be certified as Gold. Environmentally-friendly features include a rainwater containment system that will catch runoff and use it to wash buses, a solar panel system to heat water for domestic and radiant floor heat, and low-flow showers and toilets in locker rooms.
Project Delays
Economic conditions caused several subcontractors on the project that had already been paid, including funding for their vendors, to go out of business. As a result, McCarroll Construction had to pay vendors that would have been paid by the subcontractors, causing a hardship on the construction company. McCarroll Construction was unable to pay their subcontractors and vendors during the spring of 2011 and the subcontractors refused to return to the job site. AppalCART made an arrangement with McCarroll Construction’s attorney to make monthly payments to the attorney so that they can pay the subcontractors and vendors. Mediation between AppalCART and McCarroll Construction occurred on Aug. 25 and settlement in the amount of $300,000 was agreed upon to be paid to McCarroll Construction for General Conditions beyond what had been stated in the contract. It was also agreed that the project would be completed by Nov. 23, 2011 otherwise liquidated damages of $800 per day will be enforced.
Current Status
McCarroll is back on the project work site and interior floors are being completed at this time. The project is about 85% complete with remaining tasks including finishing the interior, opening the septic system, turning on the water, installing the maintenance equipment, completing the paving of a parking lot and installing bus canopies. Change orders in the amount of $1,167,883 have brought the project total to $5,267,883.
N.C. Department of Transportation
Raleigh, N.C. 27601
