JAMESTOWN — After more than 20 years of discussion and debate about where to build a highway garage, residents of this island community yesterday finally settled on a place.

The garage will be built at upper Taylor Point, between the Claiborne Pell Bridge and the town’s wastewater treatment plant.

Voters approved the $1.5 million plan on a vote of 934-753, according to unofficial results from yesterday’s special election.

The outcome was a relief and something of a surprise for people who had been part of the two-decades-old stalemate.

“I’m so happy. I had no idea how it was going to turn out,” said Town Council President David Long after hearing the results. “I had no idea how the vote would go.”

Barring the unexpected, the approval means that the days of running the highway department out of a former Navy mine storage building at Fort Wetherill — used since at least the 1960s — are numbered.

Highway department employees have been putting up with a lack of space, a poor layout, no ventilation system to remove exhaust fumes and, in the winter, very little heat.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I’m glad that we can finally move forward with this project,” said Deputy Public Works Director Michael Gray. “I’m really happy for the guys to possibly have a building within the next year or so.”

After many delays in choosing a location, including a 2-1 rejection by voters in 2004 of a $2.4-million plan to build at lower Taylor Point, Gray said he was expecting the opposite.

“I’m shocked,” he said. “It was such a large loss the last time, so I thought there would still be some sentiment.”

The plan calls for the 12,500-square-foot “highway barn” to be built 25 feet north of the bridge. It will be 23 feet tall, have 11 bays and 2,400 square feet for offices, lockers, showers and a break room, according to Town Administrator Bruce Keiser.

The project will add about $25 a year to the annual tax bill of a house with the median town assessment of about $480,000, Keiser said.

Opponents said the plan will lead to the development of an industrial park at Taylor Point, which offers public access to Narragansett Bay and is a popular spot for fishing and viewing the water. They also said the garage will spoil the view as west-bound motorists look north from the bridge because top of the roof will be visible if people look down through the bridge railing.

It seemed one year ago that the town would seek approval to build the garage in the North End, next to the former landfill. But the Town Council voted 3-2 in June to put the Taylor Point site before voters, with the majority agreeing that site had fewer legal and environmental hurdles. Supporters also said Taylor Point’s central location would serve the island better in the case of severe weather.

Councilman William Kelly, who cast one of the dissenting votes at the June meeting, said he was happy for the highway department workers. He said yesterday’s outcome showed the mindset of voters after years of debate.

“The town had barn fatigue,” he said.

“They wanted this thing over and done.”

redgar@projo.com