Imperial, California - The Imperial Irrigation District celebrated the completion of its new Fleet Services shop today at its headquarters in Imperial. Located on the northeast corner of IID’s yard, the 61,700-square-foot shop was completed on-time and under budget.

“Our fleet of service vehicles is expected to be ready and available every day, 352-days-a-year,” said IID Board President Bruce Kuhn. “With nearly 7,000 square miles of combined water and energy service territories, this amounts to millions of miles a year put on our fleet. Keeping these vehicles ready is a gargantuan task, but one our humble employees take on every day so that we can better serve the IID customer.”

Construction of the shop took approximately 12 months to complete, with A & R Construction and Duggins Construction leading the effort.

The new shop is home to IID’s 48 Fleet Services employees who are responsible for the acquisition, management, maintenance and disposal of approximately 800 vehicles and heavy equipment units. This includes light duty pickup trucks under one ton, heavy equipment vehicles, line trucks, generators and off-road type vehicles.  Also housed in the shop is IID’s Machine and Welding Unit, which plays a major support role to IID’s energy generation facilities and substations as well as water operations. 

IID’s original Fleet Services shop was constructed in 1922 to house the mules that were used to help dig and dredge IID’s earthen canals. Commonly referred to as the “mule barn” the building is a wooden frame structure that has gone through numerous changes over the years as operations have evolved. Considered a nonconforming building type under building codes, it lacks proper lighting, mechanical, electrical systems, fire protection and fire alarm systems.

Due to these deficiencies, IID entered into a service agreement to build a new Fleet Services shop in 2016.