The GET bus stop construction on Panorama was not completed over the winter break as planned, and students and faculty are now wondering why the construction seems to never end.

Scheduled to be finished last November by the GET construction crews, the project has run into a number of construction delays, and is tentatively expected to be completed sometime this spring semester, but no firm date has been set.

Several issues were involved in getting the new bus stop, such was the college needing to negotiate the terms of an easement, the strip of college land the city is allowed to use for the bus stop. Also, there was a need the preserve the trees on campus.

“We do our best to protect the trees during any construction project.  As we knew the trees were in the area where the GET bus stop would be, part of our agreement with GET was that they would not damage any of our trees during the construction process,” said Paula Bray, manager in Maintenance and Operations.

The new bus stop is more conveniently

located on Panorama where the campus slopes less and disabled students will have an easier time using it, and parking students can avoid crossing the bus path.

Maintenance issues were also a reason to move the bus stop.

“The roadway that goes from Panorama to Mt. Vernon is travelled daily by very large, very heavy buses.  During the Bakersfield summers, the asphalt gets very hot and somewhat malleable.  It makes it seem like the buses drive on taffy.  We fix pot holes in the roadway a couple of times each year.

Once the bus stop is moved, we plan to resurface the roadway and we expect that we will have lower maintenance costs from then on,” said Bray.

The new bus stop will also feature a restroom that will be open during the hours the GET buses run.

“Currently, during school hours, classroom buildings are open and restrooms are accessible.  During non-school hours and breaks, these buildings are not open and so there are no restroom facilities available for either the drivers nor the passengers,” said Bray.

The construction is being entirely funded by GET, and didn’t cost Bakersfield College any funds, and the maintenance and cleaning of the new bathrooms will also be funded by GET.