Illinois Tollway awards more than $103 million in contracts

Downers Grove, Ill. — The Illinois Tollway board of directors approved two new construction contracts and five new professional engineering service contracts totaling more than $103 million at its June meeting.

Nearly $264 million in construction and professional service contracts have been approved by the Tollway board so far in 2017, as part of the sixth year of the Tollway’s 15-year, $14 billion capital program, Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future.

To date, more than $4.7 billion has been invested by the Illinois Tollway since the Move Illinois Program began in 2012, with nearly $1.2 billion of that total committed to small, diverse and veteran-owned firms. In addition, the capital program has created or sustained an estimated 52,370 total jobs as of May 2017.

June construction contracts awarded include:

• A $3.7 million contract to R.W. Dunteman Co., Addison, Ill., for intermittent pavement repairs on portions of the Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294) and the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88).
• A $295,711 contract to Norvilla, Westchester, Ill., for drainage improvements on the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88).

June professional engineering services contract awards include:

• An $84.5 million contract to WSP USA Inc., Chicago, for consulting engineering services in compliance with the Tollway’s Trust Indenture and other general engineering services.
• An $8.9 million contract to Ciorba Group, Chicago, for design services for roadway and bridge reconstruction on the Edens Spur (I-94).
• A $2 million contract to HBM Engineering Group, Hillside, Ill., for design services as needed for roadway work systemwide.
• A $2 million contract to Robert E. Hamilton Consulting Engineers Inc., Joliet, Ill., for design services as needed for facility repairs systemwide.
• A $2 million contract to Atlas Engineering Group Ltd. Chicago, for construction management services as needed for facility repairs systemwide.

The contracts include two prime consultants, one prime contractor, 23 subconsultants and one subcontractor that are certified as disadvantaged, minority- and women-owned business enterprise (D/M/WBE) firms and, four subconsultants that are certified veteran-owned firms. Commitments for D/M/WBE participation range from 10 to 70 percent per contract, and commitments for veteran participation range from 1 to 5 percent per contract. Of the more than $103 million awarded for these contracts, nearly $39.3 million, or 38 percent, is committed to small, veteran-owned or disadvantaged firms.

Illinois Tollway professional engineering services contracts are awarded through the qualifications-based selection process (Illinois Public Act 87-673 {30 ILCS 535/1-535/80}) Architectural, Engineering and Land Surveying Qualifications-Based Selection Act), which requires state agencies to select professional architects, engineers and surveyors on the basis of demonstrated competence and professional qualifications.

Construction contracts for Illinois Tollway projects are competitively bid under the rules of the Illinois Procurement Code. As part of the process, contractors’ bid submissions for construction work advertised by the Tollway are opened and read aloud during public bid opening meetings, which are also broadcast live on the Tollway’s website. Following an agency review process, the lowest, responsible and responsive bid is presented to the Illinois Tollway Board of Directors for review and approval.