October 16, 2019

Expand
Close
Expand
Close

The M-6 project near Hampshire, Illinois is the third site to be addressed in a system-wide maintenance facility program being planned, designed and engineered by Epstein for the Illinois Tollway.

For M-6, at US 20 near Mile Marker 42, Epstein provided lead architectural design, MEP and structural engineering services for the $23 million facility.

M-6 is comprised of an approximately 400 by 165 maintenance building that houses 32,000 square feet of truck and equipment parking and a welding shop, 6,500 square feet of parts, storage, management offices, a storage mezzanine, and an 8,400-square-foot bay truck maintenance workshop. An administrative support area of 6,000 square feet houses an independent State Highway Patrol facility and Tollway driver support, including locker rooms and a break assembly area for daily and emergency storm logistic briefings. Site design reconstruction also includes fuel island upgrades and an equipment building to support a communication tower.

In addition, to help reduce the aggressive corrosive impact of constant snow removal and rescue activities, M-6 will have an independent-free-standing truck wash facility on site, constructed with similar pre-cast materials as the maintenance facility.

The building also features many sustainable design elements including a rooftop photovoltaic array, which supplies supplemental electricity. Skylights and punched openings in the pre-cast wall panels utilize translucent, insulating glass and polycarbonate panels to provide abundant natural day-lighting. The high-bay maintenance portion is naturally ventilated with operable windows. These sustainable design solutions helped the M-6 Facility achieve LEED-Gold certification.

Lastly, the M-6 facility also features a 200 kilowatt (kW) solar array on the roof, estimated to produce roughly 268,211 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity each year, almost $21,190 worth of electricity. Furthermore, this solar array will significantly reduce emissions to the equivalent of using 315 barrels of crude oil.