Pace Bus and the village of Plainfield broke ground last week on a future maintenance and storage garage near Pace’s Park-n-Ride.

Last year, the Pace Board of Directors and the village approved inter-governmental agreements for the construction of the new bus facility on the nearly 12-acre site, according to the news release.

“As we navigate through these difficult times, it’s important to remember that public transportation will be a key piece of our region’s recovery,” said Pace chairman Rick Kwasneski, in the release. “By keeping these important infrastructure projects moving forward we ensure that we will be ready for that recovery.”

Construction on the facility is estimated to cost $52 million and is funded by Pace using resources from the state’s Rebuild Illinois Capital program. Northern Builders, Inc. serves as the design-build contractor to complete the design and construct the facility.

The garage will allow for the expansion of Pace’s bus on shoulder express service and create space for additional vehicles needed to operate the popular service which takes commuters from various south region park-n-rides to downtown Chicago using the shoulder on Interstate 55 to bypass congestion.

Ridership on the service has grown over 600% since it started in 2011.

“This facility will support the service that connects the people of Plainfield and neighboring communities to employment, education and medical care,” said Plainfield Mayor Michael Collins.

For more on the project, visit Plainfield-il.org.