Garco Construction Inc., of Spokane, says it has started work on a $3.5 million remodel and expansion at the main campus of Spokane-based Trans-System Inc., the parent of three trucking companies and a truck-driver training program.

The project includes a 10,000-square-foot office addition to and an interior remodel of Trans-System's 15,000-square-foot main facility at 7405 S. Hayford on the West Plains, says Dick Pyle, Garco's project manager. The company's maintenance shop, located just to the east of the main building, is also being remodeled.

When the addition is completed, the company's administrative offices will be moved there, and the vacated space will be remodeled and used for truck-driver support and training, says Jim Landwehr, who's overseeing the construction project for Trans-System.

Truck-driver support services, which include showers and rest facilities, currently are housed in two portable buildings north of the main building. The portable structures, one of which has been in use there for 10 years, will be removed, Landwehr says.

Garco will work through the winter on the project, which is expected to be completed in June or July, Pyle says.

The office addition will allow for the company's future growth, Landwehr says, adding, "Hopefully, the economy will recover so we can justify what we're doing."

Trans-System was founded as Interior Transport by James Williams in 1972. Today, its subsidiaries include three national carriers: System Transport Inc., T.W. Transport Inc., and James J. Williams Bulk Service Transport Inc.

System Transport, which specializes in flatbed shipping, and T.W. Transport, a refrigerated-trucking company, are based at Trans-System's campus on Hayford Road. James J. Williams, which is a transporter of bulk products, and another subsidiary, Driver Training & Solutions LLC, are based at 16702 E. Euclid, in Spokane Valley.