Note 5. Property and Equipment

Property and equipment consisted of the following at December 31 (in thousands):


	2018		2017
Buildings and improvements	$	1,126,645	$	1,015,386
Land		456,334		409,146
Fixtures and equipment		44,479		42,959
Idle plant assets		30,500		30,500
Construction in process		37,636		22,403
Capitalized internal use software		32,127		30,626
Total property and equipment		1,727,721		1,551,020
Less accumulated depreciation		595,089		514,353
Total	$	1,132,632	$	1,036,667

Property and equipment includes assets held for sale of $8.1 million and $12.4 million at December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively (see Note 6).

At December 31, 2018, the Partnership had a $51.2 million remaining net book value of long-lived assets at its West Coast facility, including $30.5 million related to the Partnership’s ethanol plant acquired in 2013. In 2016, the Partnership shifted the facility from crude oil to ethanol transloading and began transloading ethanol. The Partnership would need to take certain measures to prepare the facility for ethanol production in order to place the plant into service and commence depreciation. Therefore, the $30.5 million related to the ethanol plant was included in property and equipment and classified as idle plant assets at December 31, 2018 and 2017.

If the Partnership is unable to generate cash flows to support the recoverability of the plant and facility assets, this may become an indicator of potential impairment of the West Coast facility. The Partnership believes these assets are recoverable but continues to monitor the market for ethanol, the continued business development of this facility for either ethanol or crude oil transloading, and the related impact this may have on the facility’s operating cash flows and whether this would constitute an impairment indicator.

Construction in process in 2018 included $28.0 million in costs associated with the Partnership’s gasoline stations and $9.6 million in costs related to the Partnership’s terminals.

Construction in process in 2017 included $10.7 million in costs related to the Partnership’s gasoline stations and $11.7 million in costs associated with the Partnership’s terminals.

Depreciation

Depreciation expense allocated to cost of sales was approximately $86.9 million, $88.5 million and $95.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The decrease in 2017 compared to 2016 was primarily due to the 2016 impairment of long-lived assets used at the Partnership’s crude oil transloading terminals in North Dakota.

Depreciation expense allocated to selling, general and administrative expenses was approximately $9.0 million, $7.9 million and $7.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.