ACEC ILLINOIS AWARDS ILLINOIS TOLLWAY MAINTENANCE SITE PROJECT WITH 2020 ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AWARD

ESI Consultants Ltd. recognized for construction management for new LEED Gold facility

DOWNERS GROVE, IL – The Illinois Tollway is receiving a 2020 Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Illinois today in recognition of construction management services provided by Naperville-based ESI Consultants Ltd., for the Tollway’s Marengo (M-6) maintenance site reconstruction project on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90). 

“ACEC Illinois is proud to recognize the outstanding engineering services provided by ESI Consultants for the reconstruction of the Tollway’s Marengo maintenance site,” said ACEC Illinois President and Chief Executive Kevin Artl. “The project demonstrates the Tollway’s leadership in sustainability and environmental stewardship, achieving a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold Award for energy-efficient design and construction.”

The Engineering Excellence Awards recognize projects of engineering achievement by Illinois consulting engineering firms. Entries are judged based on engineering excellence, the degree to which the client’s needs are met and the benefits to the public welfare and private practice of engineering. The Marengo maintenance site is being recognized with a Merit Award as part of the ACEC Illinois 2020 Awards Gala.

“The Illinois Tollway’s maintenance sites are crucial to our mission to provide safe, efficient roadways while ensuring the highest possible level of service for our customers,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director José Alvarez. “The reconstructed Marengo maintenance site allows us to better serve the needs of our roadway operations and customers traveling on I-90.”

ESI Consultants was responsible for all aspects of the new LEED-certified building and site construction, replacing an outdated 60-year-old facility with a state-of-the-art 72,000-square-foot facility adjacent to the U.S. Route 20 Interchange on I-90. ESI met the Tollway’s priority to keep the maintenance facility fully operational during reconstruction and minimized disruptions to operations by facilitating communications and coordination among the architect, contractors and Tollway throughout the project.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to work with the Tollway on such a diverse and complex project,” said ESI Consultants President Joe Chiczewski. “Our staff and team of subconsultants employed hard work and creativity to ensure the project came in on schedule and exceeded the expectations of the Tollway.”   

The Marengo maintenance site serves as a fleet hub, maintenance garage and office for Illinois State Police District 15, which is responsible for patrolling the Tollway system. It includes a separate truck wash facility, communications shelter and upgrades to IT equipment. Tollway maintenance sites typically perform incident management, traffic control assistance and snow and ice clearing, among other tasks.

The new facility constructed on the Tollway’s maintenance site is designed to optimize its efficiency to meet expanded system needs, as well as meet state requirements for LEED Silver certification for sustainable design and construction. The Marengo maintenance site achieved LEED Gold certification for energy-efficient design and construction.

LEED construction requires reuse and recycling of at least 75 percent of construction waste on site and use of recycle content and regional materials in the new facility. In addition, LEED design features incorporate energy-efficient lighting, photovoltaic panels to feed power back into the grid and electric vehicle charging stations. The use of in-floor hydronic radiant heat and overhead natural gas radiant heat further reduces energy costs, along with water efficiencies through installation of low-flow fixtures and landscaping requiring little or no irrigation.

The Tollway completed construction of its first LEED-certified building at the Alsip (M-1) maintenance site on the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) in 2015, which now serves as the Tollway’s prototype for large facility construction. The Marengo maintenance site will include the same design features and construction requirements. A similar project was completed in 2017 at the Rockford (M-7) maintenance site on I-90.

About the Illinois Tollway

The Illinois Tollway is a user-fee system that receives no state or federal funds for maintenance and operations. The agency maintains and operates 294 miles of roadways in 12 counties in Northern Illinois, including the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88), the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355), the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90), the Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294/I-80) and the Illinois Route 390 Tollway.