Oak Ridge Wayside: Central Bus Terminal

The Oak Ridge Central Bus Terminal wayside.

NPS/KLEIN

Quick Facts

Amenities

2 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto

Subtitle
Keeping the Project Moving

Main Text 

With a workforce of over 70,000 hustling to work every day to facilities spread over 59,000 acres, reliable mass transit services were essential to ensure Manhattan Project deadlines were met. Central Bus Terminal, constructed on the Oak Ridge Turnpike in February 1944, was the first to be opened within the residential area, followed by Jefferson Terminal in May 1944. Bus services were also available to areas off the reservation, providing transportation to work, as well as places of recreation to both employees and residents. In the span of just one year, annual ridership grew from 200,000 in 1944, to over a million by 1945. In that same time, the number of residential routes also grew from five, to 21. Buses on residential routes ran every 2-30 minutes, which ensured buses were near compacity. Bus systems were added for local schools as well. In March of 1944, school bus services provided transportation to 500 children daily, which increased to approximately 7,700 children by December of 1946. 

Photo text: Central Bus Terminal on Oak Ridge Turnpike, 1949

Exhibit Panel Description 
A black and white exhibit panel on a black frame approximately four feet tall. The panel has a black band at the top and a title underneath that reads “Central Bus Terminal- Keeping the Project Moving”. The center of the panel is covered by a black and white photograph of a bus terminal with several buses, cars, and people. The text of the panel is located on the lower portion of the panel. 
 
Visit This Exhibit Panel 
The bus terminal wayside is located in a parking lot at the south corner of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Bus Terminal Rd. The address is 100 Bus Terminal Rd. Oak Ridge, TN 37830.