Lydig Construction Inc., of Spokane, has been named the general contractor for a $1.2 million partial reconstruction of the Mead School District's bus maintenance garage, which suffered a roof collapse in January because of heavy snow.

John Dormaier, director of facilities and planning for the district, says the 10,000-square-foot garage was built in the 1950s and is located at 12508 N. Freya. The building's outer walls and about 50 percent of the roof remain, Dormaier says.

The reconstruction work should begin this month and be completed by May, and the renovated garage likely will be occupied again in June, Dormaier says.

The building has four bus maintenance bays and two lubrication bays, some office space, and space for parts storage, he says.

The middle approximately 50 percent to 60 percent of the roof collapsed, damaging some inside walls, and an evaluation by structural engineers and the district's insurance company concluded the building could be reconstructed on its original footprint, he says. Roughly a quarter of the roof's total area remains on either side of the building, Dormaier says.

Along with the partial roof reconstruction, the project will include installing steel joists and steel columns to provide the new structural system for the center section of the garage where the roof fell in, and making some structural repairs and modifications elsewhere in the building, he says.

The school district also will replace some shop equipment and systems, some of which was damaged by the collapse and snow, and the systems replacement work is included in the construction contract, he says.

NAC/Architecture Inc., of Spokane, is the project architect, and Structural Design Northwest Inc., of Spokane, is the structural engineer, says Dormaier.

Because the garage is unusable now, the district has converted an adjacent bus storage building into a temporary maintenance shop, Dormaier says.