AAA Auto Club expanding tow truck service with opening of Pullman garage

AAA — The Auto Club Group opened a new facility on Monday in Pullman that expands the number of tow trucks serving the Chicago region.

“Traffic volume on Chicago-area roads continues to reach new highs, as does the number of calls for roadside assistance received by AAA,” the group said in news release. The Auto Club Group is the second-largest American Automobile Association club in North America, with more than 13 million members.

The facility brings a new fleet of 30 trucks, in addition to the 22 trucks at its service vehicle garage at 613 N. Union Ave., which will remain open.

“This fleet expansion will help us provide greater peace of mind to members in, or traveling through, this critical region,” Scott VerBracken, vice president of automotive services for ACG, said in a statement.

About 40 people work at the Pullman site, which has been ramping up since mid-July ahead of its official opening Monday. ACG is hiring technicians for the garage and plans to have 65 employees there, including tow truck drivers, dispatchers and office personnel.

The Pullman fleet can help boost batteries, repair flat tires, deliver fuel, assist with lockouts and tow vehicles to a club-owned repair shop or an approved automotive repair facility. The location at 624 E. 111th St. also gives service vehicles easy access to multiple highways and interstates in Illinois and northwest Indiana.

The ACG garage's opening is ahead of Labor Day weekend, which is expected to cap off a summer of busy travel in all forms, whether by road or air. AAA doesn't conduct a full travel forecast for Illinois for Labor Day but called the entire summer travel season a “record-breaking blockbuster.”

The Pullman facility will host a free safety fair and community event Sept. 7, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Vehicles from AAA, the Chicago Fire Department, the Illinois Department of Transportation and more will be at the fair.