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IDOT Blog – Thursday, November 14, 2024
Construction Starts on New IDOT Materials Lab
IDOT’s Harry R. Hanley Building campus in Springfield is growing with the addition of two structures on its south end. While a new central warehouse is taking shape, construction of a new materials laboratory is underway to provide critical testing of materials for IDOT’s projects.
The $63.4 million project will include an 81,000-square-foot, single-story laboratory, office and training facility, including 43,000 square feet of lab space. Housing the Bureau of Materials lab and offices, Bureau of Research offices and library, District 6 materials lab and the Bureau of Programming’s traffic instrumentation laboratory, the building will also offer two conference rooms. The new location on the Hanley campus puts the lab within walking distance of both District 6 headquarters and the Hanley Building.
The current lab facilities at First and Ash streets in Springfield were built in 1934. The outdated structures require routine and expensive repairs and lack the space needed to efficiently handle samples and equipment. Engineer of Materials Brian Pfeifer said the new space will be both more effective and efficient in maintaining the air quality and environmental conditions required in the labs, with more space and lower overhead costs. The new facility will also include a loading dock for sample and equipment deliveries to increase safety.
IDOT spends more than $1.5 billion a year on highway construction materials, which account for about half of all construction costs. The Bureau of Materials tests a wide range of these materials, including asphalt, concrete, crushed stone, sand, gravel, soil, steel reinforcement, structural fasteners, bridge components, pavement marking and striping materials, reflective sign sheeting, and many other materials.
With the new lab, the Bureau of Materials will continue to make advancements and push the envelope on performance, in keeping with IDOT’s reputation for innovation and nationally recognized efforts related to asphalt pavement performance testing.
While the improvements will be a significant boon to IDOT operations, the lab’s impact will reach far beyond IDOT. Local agencies throughout Illinois refer to our lists of qualified materials developed as a result of our testing programs.
Each district boasts at least one materials lab, and the department is widely known for excellence in testing.
“The central lab is accredited by AASHTO for over a hundred test methods, many of them since 1990,” Pfeifer said. “The District 1 materials lab in Schaumburg gained AASHTO accreditation in 2017. We also serve in leadership roles in AASHTO’s Committee on Materials and Pavements, which manages the accreditation program as well as maintains hundreds of materials standards and test methods. We will be continuing that accreditation at the new facility.”
The project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2026.
