WESTFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Westfield Washington Schools on Tuesday broke ground on a $52.5 million transportation facility.

It’s part of an effort to keep providing safe transportation for students. Organizers say the new facility is a result of expansion in the district. They say the new facility will house a fleet of 250 buses.

Construction will begin immediately, a spokesman told News 8. The facility will sit about 3½ miles west of U.S. 31 on the north side of State Road 32 between Centennial and Eagletown roads.

Superintendent Paul Kaiser says the facility will be built with staff and students in mind.

“This is really critical. This investment in our kids and our future is critical. We need space to store more of our buses. We need a place for our drivers to take training so they can continue to strive and get better, and having that facility where they can meet in a large group, and also have the nicer facilities for restrooms and just, you known, a lot of our drivers will work all day long. They run multiple routes, so it just gives them a place that they can meet and grow as individuals and grow as a team.”

Kaiser says the project is expected to be done by the fall of 2025.

The bus facility is part of the larger Destination Westfield Project, expected to total more than $400 million. The wider project includes the renovation of Shamrock Springs and Carey Ridge elementary schools, the creation of two more elementary schools, the elimination of the intermediate school, and the addition of a second middle school, News 8 first reported in January 2023.

Indiana Department of Education reports the district in Hamilton County has more than 9,700 students. That’s up from 8,400 in 2020. The upgrades are expected to put the district’s capacity at more than 12,500 students.