Renovations in MercerTown

by Len Dunman

As a result of Mercer's growth, and in anticipation of Mercer's continued long-term growth, a number of construction projects are underway in Louisville. Office renovations have begun in Building 8 (12th and Rowan Streets) which was acquired last year. When completed, the entire Safety Department (except for Truck Inspections), the Recruiting Department, and the Facility Department (including the warehouse operation) will move to Building 8. The Security Office will move from Building 7 (Warehouse) to the second floor of Building 6 (Drivers Lounge). Building 7 will be razed to allow room for additional truck parking in Lot 2.

A 4 1/2 acre drop lot at 15th and Main Streets has been purchased and construction there (lights, fencing, cameras, etc) is underway. This will alleviate the trailer drop problem in Lots 1 (Main Building), 2 (Drivers Lounge), and 3 (Raben Tire site). Owner-Operators in for Orientation will park in Lot 3, in front of the new Recruiting Department, which will also relieve congestion in Lot 2.

In conjunction with these projects, the Drivers Lounge will occupy both floors of Building 6 and will undergo substantial renovation. The laundry area will be modified to contain 3 each of commercial grade washers and dryers, instead of 2 pairs of residential grade units as are there currently. Driver award photographs will be hung in a more orderly fashion. The two restrooms on the second floor will both become Men's restrooms. The feasibility of adding more showers, possibly to the west end of the current orientation classroom on the second floor, is being investigated.

While the current TV rooms will be retained for movies (cable, DVD, VCR), additional flat-screen TVs will be placed around various rooms on both floors showing continuous channels such as Fox News, ESPN, The Weather Channel, CNN, etc. A project is currently underway to bring WiFi to the Drivers Lounge and all truck parking areas in Lots 1,2,and 3. The dump station on the south side of Building 6 will be reconfigured to make it more "user friendly" for units equipped with toilet holding tanks. In an effort to discourage idling on Mercer lots, additional electrical plug-in points will be available for units not equipped with APU's.

This project is being run by Facility Manager James "Wibby" Hyden, with input from a number of other managers, employees, and drivers. A suggestion box has been located in the Drivers Lounge so drivers can provide additional ideas, or comment about things that are broken, or just don't work the way that they should. Everyone's input, good and bad, is appreciated.

While this process will be going on continuously for the next few months, the plan is for everything to be pulled together and be fully operational prior to the Mid-America Trucking Show in March, 2008. All drivers are asked to pay attention to the construction activity in Lot 2 and to use extreme caution when driving in that area.

For questions or suggestions regarding this article, please contact:

Len Dunman
Mercer Transportation
Safety Director
502-584-2301 ext. 3161
Ldunman@mercer-trans.com