With one handle held by Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, and the other held by Mayor Ted Tedesco, a pair of giant scissors cut a ribbon in front of CyRide’s new $1,920,000 addition.

Latham, who was hailed by Tedesco as instrumental in the arrangement of Federal Transit Administration funds for the project, called the new facility a “great asset for CyRide and the community it serves.”

The addition includes an area for refueling and a high-efficiency bus washing machine, which is expected to help keep the vehicles in top shape.

Latham visited the CyRide facility about a year ago and subsequently obtained a $114,640 federal grant and $1,421,360 from the state to help fund the transit system.

“I was taken on a tour and informed as to how valuable CyRide is to the community, and how valuable it is to maintain the buses,” Latham said.

The new wing includes a fueling system, featuring two new tanks with 32,000-gallon capacity, and a washer, which uses a reclamation system to recycle water used in the washing process for continued use.

The recycling process is made possible due to the new system’s use of only electric and pneumatic components, which contain no contaminants.

Latham said he would continue to seek funds to support the continuation of the three-phase project, which will also include a shop area, offices and bus storage facilities.

Dedication attendees were invited aboard one of the buses to take part in the first official use of the new washer.

While the first public run was successful, Bob Bourne, CyRide director of transportation, said the new system wouldn’t be ready for regular use for another week because of work still needed for the electrical system.

Among the systems features are a prewash arch, an automated four-brush system, an under-floor wash, a carbon monoxide monitor and a post-wash arch that applies wax to the vehicle.

CyRide mechanic Jon Hatt hailed the new machine as “wonderful.”

“It’s going to do at least twice as well as the one we have,” Hatt said. “I’m very pleased. We’ve been wishing for something like this for a long time.”

Hatt said the old system — installed in 1984 — has become so degraded it now requires constant maintenance in order to work.

The washer’s manufacturer went out of business, and components for the machine were made by hand to keep it operational.

The buses had to be pre-washed by hand before being sent through the machine.

Hatt said the old washer would be scrapped, its age and inefficiency giving it little or no salvage value.

Bourne said the new addition was critical to the maintenance of buses. The design life of a bus is usually 12 years, he said.

CyRide will routinely run buses for up to 30 years, Bourne said. Given this grueling life span, care for the body of the bus is imperative.

“You can always change the motor, or put a new transmission in,” he said. “Once the body goes, that’s it.”

Ames City Councilman Steve Goodhue was among those present for the washer’s first use. The city allocated $92,160 for the project. The council’s support was due to the overwhelmingly positive image of the CyRide system within the city, Goodhue said.

“It’s simply outstanding,” Goodhue said. “It’s a great service for students and the community, and this addition is going to strengthen that.

“A system like CyRide is not something that is generally found in a city of our size, and it’s something we continue to point to as a strong part of our quality of life.”

Other funding for the project came from the ISU Government of the Student Body, which gave $251,520, and Iowa State, which gave $40,320.