[Editor: This is the text of a June 21, 2016, news release from the Illinois Tollway Authority.]
ILLINOIS TOLLWAY AWARDS MORE THAN $26.4 MILLION IN CONTRACTS FOR CONSTRUCTION AND PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES IN JUNE
Nearly $4.3 billion invested since start of Move Illinois Program
DOWNERS GROVE, IL — The Illinois Tollway Board of Directors today approved two new construction contracts totaling $2 million and one new professional engineering services contract totaling $24.4 million at its June meeting. Nearly $179 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 $4.3 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 firms. In addition, the capital program has created or sustained an estimated 41,910 total jobs as of May 2016.
“The Illinois Tollway is committed to creating opportunities for veteran-owned firms and small businesses by supporting those firms that want to step up to be prime contractors and consultants,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Greg Bedalov. “The contracts awarded today show success in our efforts with both a new contractor and a first-time prime contractor working on Tollway projects.”
The two construction contracts approved today are small business set-aside contracts awarded as part of the Tollway’s Small Business Initiative, including one new prime and one new firm to the Tollway. The Illinois Tollway Small Business Initiative puts small businesses in a position to succeed and grow as prime contractors and includes identifying select construction contracts, generally with values of approximately $1 million, that can be set aside specifically for small businesses.
The June contracts also include a professional engineering services contract with one prime consultant and six subconsultants that are certified as disadvantaged, minority- and women-owned business enterprise (D/M/WBE) or veteran firms.
Of the $26.4 million in awarded contracts, nearly $8.4 million, or 32 percent, is committed to veteran-owned, small or disadvantaged firms.
Construction contracts awarded today include:
- A $1.3 million contract to JG Demo Inc., Addison, IL, for parking lot removal and replacement at the Hillside (M-2) maintenance site on the Tri-State Tollway (I-294).
- A $726,983 contract to Accel Construction Services Group, Chicago, IL, for removal of buildings and site restoration for the Elgin O’Hare Western Access Project and on I-294.
Professional engineering services contracts awarded today include:
- A $24.4 million contract to Alfred Benesch & Company, Christopher B. Burke Engineering and Lin Engineering, Chicago, IL, for design services for the Elgin O’Hare Western Access Project including from I-294 to Franklin Avenue/Green Street and for the North Avenue Interchange at I-294.
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.
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 [http://www.illinoistollway.com/construction-and-planning/projects-by-roadway/construction-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 [http://www.illinoistollway.com/doing-business] 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 286 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) and the Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294/I-80).
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Contact:
Jan Kemp
630-241-6800 x. 2381
jkemp@getipass.com