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Photo credit: Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission <\/p>\n\n Photo credit: Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission <\/p>\n
Pennsylvania Turnpike rethinks and rebuilds facilities with an eye on the future.<\/p>\n
By Brian Justice, Contributing Writer \u00a0 <\/p>\n
Key Takeaways: \u00a0<\/p>\n
\nModernizing outdated facilities: The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is replacing all maintenance sheds \u2014 many over 70 years old \u2014 to meet current safety, accessibility, workforce, equipment, and building-code requirements. New sites also improve access and support stormwater management and contractor staging.\u00a0
\nImproving safety, speed, and sustainability: Redesigned sheds separate work functions, use LEDs and daylighting, store vehicles indoors for faster snow-and-ice response, and include drainage systems that capture oil and wash water. Efficient HVAC, geothermal systems, and better insulation help control energy costs despite larger facilities.\u00a0
\nStandardizing while adapting through staff input: Facilities share a consistent layout but adapt to difficult site conditions. Employee feedback, supported by 3D renderings and post-occupancy reviews, has driven practical upgrades such as larger mechanics\u2019 bays, stronger vehicle lifts, and slip-resistant floors.\u00a0
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The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has launched a multi-year, multimillion-dollar initiative to replace every maintenance shed \u2014 all more than 70 years old \u2014 along its 565-mile route. Over the course of seven decades, Turnpike expansions, improvements and changing environmental and maintenance needs have made the improvements crucial.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe existing sheds have long been completely obsolete and too small,\u201d says Vincent Buser, engineer project manager for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. \u201cThey don’t meet current building codes and have real safety and accessibility issues.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even the changing nature of the workforce itself was a factor. The once all-male staff is now diverse, making such basics as restrooms<\/a> inadequate.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re not only redoing the sheds,” Buser says. \u201cWe\u2019re also developing new sites and properties. More and bigger equipment and more miles to maintain were definitely a big factor in launching and carrying out the program.\u201d<\/p>\n Eye on accessibility\u00a0<\/p>\n Access to the Turnpike is essential for the replacement maintenance sheds, which must provide access to both sides of the thoroughfare without requiring construction of new access points,\u201d Buser says. Most of the replacement sheds are being built on new sites while former maintenance shed properties are repurposed for stormwater management. Previously, runoff often was directed onto adjacent properties, which did not allow that water to be managed properly. The new spaces accommodate basins for collecting and handling runoff.\u00a0<\/p>\n Real estate along the Turnpike is limited, making the existing maintenance shed properties still valuable, he says. The need for space where contractors can stage equipment and materials is leading to the conversion of many of the former maintenance shed sites into stone-paved contractor yards, which are useful for ongoing construction projects along the Turnpike.\u00a0<\/p>\n The sheds were designed and built as large, single workspaces. Mechanics worked on their vehicles and equipment in what also served as staging areas for highway maintenance crews.\u00a0<\/p>\n The layouts also presented safety and egress concerns. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Offices, restrooms, lunchrooms and other spaces were located around the perimeter of the main workspace, requiring employees to walk through active work areas to reach them and, in case of a fire or other emergency, to exit the building.\u00a0<\/p>\n Employees performing unrelated tasks also worked in close proximity, with welders working alongside mechanics amid flying sparks, for example. The redesign addresses those issues by segregating operations and providing dedicated space for specific jobs while reducing unnecessary foot traffic through work areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lighting<\/a> also has improved significantly, Buser says. Mechanics in the old sheds had relied on drop lights and spotlights. Fluorescent and incandescent fixtures and high-pressure sodium exterior lighting have been replaced with LED lighting and advanced controls. Abundant daylighting provides enough light during the day that many lights remain off but turn on automatically when needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Storing equipment outside the existing maintenance sheds caused delays in responding to ice and snow. Moving a plow truck required removing snow and ice and making sure equipment had not frozen first. Smaller equipment was stored in separate sheds and out of the weather but was then more difficult to access quickly. Smaller lot sizes meant that vehicles frequently were double-parked, requiring employees to move one to reach another.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNow we are set up more like a fire company,\u201d Buser says. \u201cTrucks are ready to start without deicing, and having equipment stored inside, ready to go, easily saves 20 minutes in taking a truck out of the facility and getting onto the highway.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Safer, faster operations\u00a0<\/p>\n Other issues related to storing equipment outside included fuel tanks and lubricated components. Leaking oil, fuel and other pollutants combined with rainwater, and despite cleaning with kitty litter or other absorbents, was simply discharged in a corner of the property or piped off site.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNow anything that leaks inside the building flows into floor drains,\u201d Buser says. \u201cIt goes into an oil-water separator, which is then taken to a recycling and waste treatment facility, and that’s a big impact environmentally.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Added environmental and financial benefits of the new sheds are better building envelopes and modern HVAC systems, he says. Administrative areas use highly efficient geothermal systems for heating and cooling, while some maintenance areas use boiler-fired radiant floor heating. Oil-fired boilers are being replaced with natural gas systems where available and propane where it is not. Combined with improved insulation and reduced heating demands, the new facilities are larger but operate without a corresponding increase in energy costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the biggest operational benefits is dedicated truck washing facilities, Buser says. \u00a0<\/p>\n Before, vehicles could be washed outside when weather permitted. Otherwise, they were cleaned in the shared workspace, where overspray made floors, perhaps slippery with grease or oil, even riskier. Crews also relied on power washers and hoses, making it difficult to thoroughly clean the undersides of salt trucks.\u00a0<\/p>\n The new sheds\u2019 dedicated indoor washing spaces capture and redirect water and overspray to a new drainage system, he says. An automatic undercarriage wash is activated by an electric eye, delivering approximately 250 gallons of water a minute via a 75-horsepower pump, thoroughly cleaning the underside of the vehicle. The wash then shuts off automatically after the truck passes over it.\u00a0<\/p>\n