Markets we serve
Transportation
Independent engineers and architects for bus garages, transit terminals and fleet sites: enclosure investigation, testing, repair design and pavement work.
Keeping Transportation Infrastructure Safe and Functional
INSPEC offers specialized building envelope consulting services for transportation infrastructure, including airports, bridges, railways, and transit hubs. We understand that these facilities face extreme weather conditions, heavy traffic, and wear-and-tear, making regular inspections and maintenance essential. Our team ensures that critical structures like terminal buildings, hangars, bridges, and railway stations remain safe, operational, and structurally sound. Our Services Include:- Roofing and waterproofing for airports and transit hubs
- Leak detection for transportation facilities
- Compliance with transportation safety standards
Talk to us
Responsible for a transportation facility?
Tell us about the building and what you are seeing. Our consultants work across Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis.
Common questions
Does INSPEC perform the repairs it recommends?
No. INSPEC is a consulting engineering and architecture firm. We inspect, test, investigate, design and administer construction, but the repair work is performed by contractors hired separately by the owner. That separation lets us document conditions, write bid documents and observe the work without any financial stake in the construction contract.
Can investigation and testing happen without shutting a facility down?
Usually, yes. Most enclosure investigation and water testing can be scheduled at night, during service gaps, or phased area by area so a garage, terminal or lot stays in operation. Some work needs interior access or limited lane closures. We plan sequencing with your operations staff before mobilizing so disruptions are known in advance.
Why do vehicle wash bays and maintenance garages keep having roof problems?
Often the problem is not a leak at all. These spaces produce very high interior humidity, and if the roof or wall assembly cannot control vapor or dry out, moisture condenses inside it and drips like a leak. Diagnosing that requires looking at the assembly and its drying behavior, not just patching the surface.
Can you assess buildings and paving in the same engagement?
Yes. Many transportation sites have enclosure and site problems that interact — roof drainage discharging onto failing pavement, for example. Our building enclosure and civil engineering groups can assess both and present findings together, so roof, wall, pavement and stormwater needs can be prioritized in one capital plan rather than in separate, competing requests.
Why do salt and material storage buildings deteriorate so quickly?
They combine a corrosive interior environment with constant handling damage. Chlorides reach fasteners, structural steel, reinforcing and masonry, while loaders strike walls and columns. Coatings and liners that were adequate for a dry warehouse do not last here. Assessment usually looks at the structure, the interior finish system and the enclosure together rather than treating them separately.
Can you help plan repairs across several garages, terminals and lots at once?
Yes. Conditions can be recorded consistently across multiple properties so that repairs are ranked against each other rather than site by site. That gives you one prioritized list to take into a budget cycle, and it can be updated over time instead of commissioning a fresh study every few years.
Our pavement keeps failing in the same spots. Is that a paving problem?
Often it is not. Repeat failures at bus pads, turning areas and door aprons usually trace back to section thickness, subgrade, drainage or joint layout rather than the surface material. Our civil engineers investigate the cause first, then design a section and drainage approach suited to the actual vehicle loads and turning patterns.
Do you work with design teams on new transportation buildings, or only existing ones?
Both. On new construction and major rehabilitation we work alongside the architect and engineer of record on enclosure detailing, review of submittals and shop drawings, field testing and commissioning. On existing facilities the work usually begins with investigation and testing, then repair documents and observation during construction.