Chicago Construction News staff writer
The DuPage County Board is set to vote tonight on a proposal to build a new highway maintenance facility at the fairgrounds property in Wheaton. The plan, estimated to cost between $73 million and $82 million, has received preliminary approval from the board’s transportation committee.
During a committee meeting, members approved a plan to construct the DuPage Division of Transportation’s new facility on the northern portion of the fairgrounds site, replacing an aging highway maintenance building on County Farm Road, originally built in the 1950s.
The new facility would be more than 100,000 square feet larger than the current one, with additional space for maintenance and administrative operations. Officials considered several other potential sites but noted that the existing location is constrained by a creek, limiting options for expansion.
In contrast, the north end of the fairgrounds offers open space and is less encumbered by nearby infrastructure.
“With this plan, there will still be ample room for fairgrounds activities, and I believe it will be an overall aesthetic improvement for the area,” Mary FitzGerald Ozog, chair of the transportation committee said at the meeting.
Construction funding is included in the transportation division’s fiscal 2025 budget, with additional funds allocated in the multi-year plans for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
