[Editor: This is the text of a July 28, 2016, news release from the Illinois Tollway.]
ILLINOIS TOLLWAY AWARDS MORE THAN $40.6 MILLION IN CONTRACTS FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES IN JULY
Nearly $4.4 billion invested since start of Move Illinois Program
DOWNERS GROVE, IL — The Illinois Tollway Board of Directors today approved seven new professional engineering services contracts totaling $40.6 million at its July meeting to help keep existing systemwide infrastructure in a state of good repair. Nearly $220 million in construction and professional engineering service contracts have been approved by the Tollway Board so far in 2016, as part of the fifth year of the Tollway’s 15-year, $12 billion capital program, Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future.
To date, nearly $4.4 billion in construction and professional engineering service contracts have been approved by the Tollway Board since the Move Illinois Program began in 2012, including more than $1 billion committed to small, veteran-owned or disadvantaged, minority- and women-owned businesses. In addition, the capital program has created or sustained an estimated 43,020 total jobs as of June
2016.
Contracts approved by the Tollway Board in July will fund design, environmental and construction management services for future pavement and bridge rehabilitation and repairs along with infrastructure preservation work such as pavement joint and crack sealing, pavement diamond grinding and bridge sealing.
“The Illinois Tollway does an excellent job of maintaining our roads, bridges and other infrastructure by conducting annual inspections and making repairs on a timely basis to protect our long-term investment in the 292-mile system of roadways,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Greg Bedalov. “Our commitment to infrastructure preservation not only maximizes performance and extends the useful life of our roadways, but it also enables us to preserve our high level of service to our customers.”
In addition, each of the seven new contracts approved today include disadvantaged, minority- and women-owned business enterprise (D/M/WBE) and veteran participation goals. The July contracts also include two prime consultants and 26 subconsultants that are certified as D/M/WBE or veteran-owned firms. Commitments for D/M/WBE participation range from 20 to 76 percent per contract. Of the $40.6 million in awarded contracts, nearly $15.4 million, or 38 percent, is committed to veteran-owned or disadvantaged firms.
Professional engineering services contracts awarded today include:
- A $9.3 million contract to Primera Engineers, Chicago, IL, for design services for roadway and bridge rehabilitation on the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355) between I-55 and Butterfield Road.
- A $7.1 million contract to EJM Engineering Inc., Chicago, IL, for design services for roadway and bridge rehabilitation on the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) between Annie Glidden Road and Illinois Route 56.
- A $6 million contract to Patrick Engineering Inc., Lisle, IL, for design services for roadway and bridge rehabilitation on I-355 between Butterfield Road and Army Trail Road.
- A $5.7 million contract to Lochmueller Group Inc., Chicago, IL, for design services for roadway and bridge rehabilitation on I-88 between Annie Glidden Road and Illinois Route 251.
- A $5 million contract to Huff & Huff Inc., Oak Brook, IL, for systemwide environmental studies.
- A $4 million contract to ESI Consultants, Naperville, IL, for construction management services for reconstruction of the Marengo (M-6) maintenance site on I-90 and repairs at maintenance facilities systemwide.
- A $3.6 million contract to Ardmore Associates, Chicago, IL, for construction management services for reconstruction of the Rockford (M-7) maintenance site on I-90.
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, rather than low bid. Staff from the Department of Engineering checks statements of interest to ensure that specified pre-qualifications and documentation are met and then reviews and scores statements of interest based on the selection criteria outlined for each project. Executives from the Department of Engineering then review the scoring, as well as each firm’s capacity, and identify the top recommended firms per project. To complete the review, a committee of Tollway professionals and independent engineering officials considers the top recommended firms and finalizes the top three firms in ranked order. The Tollway then seeks to negotiate a final contract price with the top-ranked firm.
The Illinois Tollway provides detailed information about current Tollway construction contracts through the Construction Contract Tracker on the Tollway’s website at www.illinoistollway.com. Contractors and consultants can also access resources online to help them learn about how to do business with the Tollway, including construction bid-letting schedules, professional service bulletins, manuals and construction bid calendars. These resources can be found in the “Doing Business” section of the Tollway’s website.
About Move Illinois
The Illinois Tollway’s 15-year, $12 billion capital program, Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future, will improve mobility, relieve congestion, reduce pollution, create as many as 120,000 jobs and link economies across the Midwest region. Move Illinois will address the remaining needs of the existing Tollway system; rebuild and widen the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) as a state-of-the art 21st century corridor; construct a new interchange to connect the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) to I-57; build a new, all-electronic Elgin O’Hare Western Access Project and fund planning studies for emerging projects.
About the Illinois Tollway
The Illinois Tollway is a user-fee system that receives no state or federal funds for maintenance and operations. The agency maintains and operates 292 miles of interstate tollways in 12 counties in Northern Illinois, including the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88), the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355), the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90), the Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294/I-80) and the Illinois Route 390 Tollway.