Work on the Materials Testing and Research Center at the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) headquarters in Springfield is close to completion. Office areas are nearly finished, while work continues on laboratory spaces. Staff are expected to begin moving into the facility in April.
The new building is an 81,000-square-foot, single-story structure that includes 43,000 square feet dedicated to laboratory space. It will house several key IDOT bureaus and facilities: 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. There will also be two conference rooms. The center’s location on the Hanley campus places it within walking distance of both District 6 headquarters and the Hanley building.
When operational, the laboratory will be responsible for testing samples of highway construction materials to ensure their quality and durability. This is aimed at supporting cost-effective and long-lasting roads and bridges.
IDOT allocates more than $1.5 billion annually to highway construction materials, which make up 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, among others.
###
