SW Maintenance Yards Improvement

This project was comprised of two phases and eleven maintenance yards throughout northeast Illinois. Amenities per location varied and included snow plow truck repair garages, vehicle storage buildings, salt storage domes, and office buildings.

Some structures are more than fifty years old, and electrical service requirements far exceeded capacity. Electrical service and mechanical upgrades included new emergency generators, panel boards, and power feeders. Generators installed at these types of facilities are fed from Automatic Transfer Switches (ATS) tied directly to the utility company. New industrial lighting was installed at most facilities, as well.

Scope varied per location, each requiring some or all of the following work:

Drawings for this project were produced using Building Information Modeling (BIM) software. BEI coordinated with the Engineer to produce the Construction Documents utilizing MicroStation & MasterSpec.

All work was done on accelerated schedules without any shut-down of Tollway operations. Tight scheduling and coordination were maintained with the tollway, especially during snow-removal season.  Despite these restrictions, little to no off-shift work took place, and the project was delivered ahead of schedule.

Workflow within maintenance facilities is systematic, with large pieces of equipment often operating within tight quarters. Adding underground work and other tasks requiring cuts into the concrete floors had to be scheduled and sequenced to occur when it would not disrupt facility operations. Underground work was completed at each of the twelve locations within 5 days per site. In addition to sequencing construction around high periods of vehicular activity, work areas had to be properly cordoned off and sequestered to control dust and fumes adjacent to occupied and operational areas.