New Plainfield Pace Facility Completed After $52M State Contribution

PLAINFIELD, IL — A new Pace Bus maintenance and storage garage has officially opened in Plainfield. The construction of the new facility was made possible by a $52 million investment from the Rebuild Illinois capital program.

The state-of-the-art facility, built on an 11.92-acre site near the Plainfield Park-n-Ride on South Depot Drive, has a capacity for 135 buses — leaving room for the future growth of Pace operations in Will County — and 13 maintenance bays to allow for efficient repairs and maintenance on site.

Officials from Pace, Illinois, Will County, the Village of Plainfield and the Regional Transportation Authority joined representatives from Northern Builders, Inc to celebrate the new facility July 21.

Plainfield Mayor John Argoudelis was among officials in attendance.

"It is essential that fast-growing suburbs, like Plainfield, have accessible public transportation and our partnership with Pace has provided residents with just that — express service to Downtown Chicago," he said at the event. "We appreciate Pace’s commitment to Plainfield; the facility that we are celebrating today is a testament to our great partnership and we look forward to Pace’s future growth in the community."

At the facility, there is also additional space to make way for the future expansion of Pace's Bus on Shoulder Express Service, which transports commuters from the suburbs to downtown Chicago using the shoulder on I-55 to bypass traffic. Since shoulder use was implemented in 2011, ridership on the service increased more than 600 percent prior to the pandemic, Pace officials said.

"This garage benefits the entire region," Regional Transportation Authority Chairman Kirk Dillard said in a statement. "Bus on Shoulder passengers can transfer to Chicago Transit Authority and Metra to get from the southwest suburbs to virtually anywhere in Chicagoland."

Pace has begun laying the groundwork to convert to zero-emission buses in the future, so in Plainfield, the facility includes an electric bus charger and dual-port electric car charger.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said funding for the Plainfield Pace facility is an investment in future generations.

"Our bipartisan Rebuild Illinois plan comes at a critical time for our growing Chicagoland region, and we're making sure our infrastructure can meet the needs of everyone who lives, works and plays here," Governor JB Pritzker said in a statement. "This funding for Pace is a $52 million investment in the future of Will County, ensuring that residents have accessible, reliable Pace service throughout the community and beyond."