Materials Testing and Research Center on Hanley Campus Nears Completion

Materials Testing and Research Center on Hanley Campus Nears Completion

Work on the Materials Testing and Research Center at the IDOT headquarters in Springfield is nearing completion. Office areas are almost ready, and work is continuing on laboratories. Staff are expected to begin moving into the new building in April.

The 81,000-square-foot, single-story laboratory, office and training facility, including 43,000 square feet of lab space, will house 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, along with two conference rooms. The new location on the Hanley campus puts the lab within easy walking distance of both District 6 headquarters and the Hanley building.

Once open, the lab will test samples of highway construction materials for quality and durability to ensure cost-effective and long-lasting roads and bridges.

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.