Car enthusiasts are revved up about the new Grand Prix-style racetrack under construction at the new Autobahn Country Club south of Joliet, Ill. The club boasts a 3.5-mile landscaped road course on a 320-acre site at Patterson and Millsdale Road, a few miles west of Chicagoland Motor Speedway and Route 66 Raceway.

"It will be a really nice facility," says Dan Darden, vice president of construction for Gallagher Asphalt, Thornton, Ill. Gallagher Asphalt is responsible for stone and paving work at the new racetrack.

Autobahn Country Club enlisted preeminent road course designer Alan Wilson of Wilson Motorsport Inc., Castle Rock, Colo., to develop the track. The master development plan for the track features three layouts — a 1.46-mile North track and a 2.10-mile South track. Both track layouts can be combined to create a 3.56-mile track (with a 2,000-foot straightway) for special events.

"There are a lot of really fast sections in the track," says Mark Basso, a founding member of the Autobahn Country Club." It is really going to challenge the guys who have some ponies under the hood."

According to the club, which currently has 170 members, the combined track will be the third largest in the country after Road America and Sebring in Florida. In addition, the site will also feature a 0.8-mile go-kart track.

Joliet's new racetrack will be used by club members, and will also be available to car clubs, vintage racers, high performance driving schools, etc. "On any given day, the members will have one track for their use, and the other one will be rented out to car clubs, driving schools and others," Basso says.

Gallagher Asphalt crews have been busy placing stone and putting down asphalt for the 40-foot-wide North and South tracks. A total of 19,510 tons of asphalt is being used. "We are placing 8 inches of stone, topped by 2 inches of binder and 2 inches of surface course," Darden says. "The stone is coming from Vulcan Materials and we are supplying the asphalt from our plant."

Gallagher Asphalt Superintendent Joe Ulanowski, a 39-year Gallagher employee, is overseeing the project, along with Sean Bulmann, stone foreman; and Ovidio Lopez, paving foreman. Typically, an eight-man paving crew has been in action, and the stone crew consists of five people.

Fine grading for the stone placement has been done using Caterpillar graders equipped with Trimble GPS technology. For paving, Gallagher Asphalt is using Blaw-Knox pavers and a Road-Tec Shuttle Buggy.

The asphalt surface features a special mix design. According to Darden, the mix design has been finely tuned — it has special polymers in it that make the surface very hard, thus providing the racecars with better grip on the course. "We want to provide the racers with a smooth ride," he says.

The new Autobahn Country Club track will be up and running this fall, according to John Matravers, construction manager for Autobahn Country Club, LLC. "Cars will be able to do a little practicing on the track this fall," he says. "However, the edges of the track are not going to be fit to drive on at high speeds until the track goes through a winter-freeze cycle and completely tightens up. So, really hard racing will begin in early spring."

Construction at the country club includes the construction of individual garages for members to park their cars and a clubhouse. "The project is being done in phases," Matravers says. "Heavy construction — earthmoving and landscaping — will be done this year. Next year, the go-kart track will be built and we will start work on the clubhouse."

Ruettiger, Tonelli & Associates, Joliet, is providing engineering services for the facility, and T.J. Lambrecht Construction Co., Joliet, is handling earthwork and landscaping.