AASHTO Journal - NYSDOT Building New Material Testing Laboratory

The New York State Department of Transportation and the Office of General Services recently broke ground on a $150.5 million project to build a 114,500-square-foot consolidated materials testing facility at the W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus in Albany – a central laboratory that will replace NYSDOT’s current 60-plus-year-old collection of testing facilities with an single, central complex that will increase the agency’s ability to test and certify the safety of products and materials used to build the state’s roads and bridges.

[Above image by NYSDOT]

NYSDOT currently performs approximately 100,000 tests each year – evaluating the chemical, physical and performance properties of transportation infrastructure materials – across two outdated buildings, the agency’s traffic signal laboratory, and the drillers’ operation center. While those facilities continue to safely perform critical testing functions, NYSDOT said they fall short of modern building and laboratory standards and no longer meet the agency’s testing needs.

The new Central Testing Laboratory, estimated for completion in fall 2029, will consolidate all facilities into one location that will allow NYSDOT to expand and enhance critical evaluation activities as well as accommodate new testing equipment.

Building highlights will include:

Advanced testing equipment for materials and traffic signal laboratories, featuring full electric power that utilizes a geothermal heating and cooling system with wellfields extending 800 feet below the surface. This sustainable system will harness the earth’s natural temperature to provide reliable, efficient temperature control in the new building.
A steel-framed building with ethylene propylene diene monomer roofing on a concrete mat slab.
17 core laboratories; a high-bay strength lab for a one-million-pound-rated, custom testing frame; and a modern training area with retractable walls.
Garage space with three drive-through double bays for holding large vehicles with trailers; forklift charging; an overhead crane; an environmental chamber and traffic signal testing wall with space for staging; and office and warehouse spaces.

“The NYSDOT is a national leader in the deployment of reliable and adaptable materials on our roads and bridges and this testing facility plays a major role in these efforts,” noted Governor Kathy Hochul (D) in a statement.

“We are investing more in our state’s infrastructure than at any other time in our history, the foundation of which begins with a laboratory that has the testing capacity to certify that the materials the department uses are the safest and most dependable products in the nation,” she said. “This new facility will also ensure that New York State remains an innovative leader in developing and utilizing sustainable transportation materials on our roads and bridges, which will in turn increase resiliency throughout the state’s highway system.”

“The baseline of a safe transportation system begins and ends with the work that is performed every day in our Central Laboratory, and breaking ground on this new facility is a critical step in ensuring the safety of our roads and bridges for generations to come,” added Marie Therese Dominguez, NYSDOT commissioner. “This facility is going to be a game changer for the future of highway and transportation safety in New York and has limitless potential to improve our robust state highway system.”