The Illinois Tollway Board of Directors approved six new construction and professional engineering service contracts totaling nearly $228.7 million at its April meeting, including a $184.6 million contract to reconstruct the northbound Mile Long Bridge on the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) – the largest construction contract ever awarded by the organization.
This project was awarded to F.H. Paschen S.N. Nielsen & Associates. Paschen/Nielson also won an $8.2 million contract for pavement and structural preservation and rehabilitation on the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) between Illinois Route 56 and Illinois Route 59.
Nearly $375.9 million in construction and professional engineering services contracts have been approved by the Tollway Board in 2019, as part of the eighth year of the Tollway’s 15-year, $14 billion capital program.
To date, nearly $6.7 billion has been invested since the Move Illinois Program began in 2012, with more than $1.9 billion of that total committed to small, diverse and veteran-owned firms. In addition, the capital program has created or sustained an estimated 68,070 total jobs as of March 2019.
The Mile Long Bridge construction contract approved by the Tollway board is the first of two construction contracts for work to remove and rebuild the twin bridge structures carrying northbound and southbound traffic as part of the $4 billion Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) Project. Construction scheduled for 2019 to 2023 will maintain access for customers with four lanes in each direction throughout the project.
The contracts approved include one prime consultant, 12 subconsultants, one prime contractor and 28 subcontractors that are certified as disadvantaged, minority- and women-owned business enterprise (D/M/WBE) firms and two subconsultants, as well as four subcontractors that are certified veteran-owned firms. Commitments for D/M/WBE participation range from 18 percent to 75 percent per contract and commitments for veteran participation range from 0.6 to five percent per contract.
April engineering contract awards include:
- A $1.1 million contract to Cardinal State, Lake in the Hills, for landscaping and planting improvements on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) between the South Beloit Toll Plaza and Riverside Boulevard.
- A $395,900 contract to Native Landscape Contractors, Leland, for grading and erosion control and repairs on the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) between Dempster Street and Ballard Road.
April professional engineering services contract awarded include:
- A $29.5 million contract with Jacobs Engineering Group, Chicago, for design corridor manager services for I-490 Tollway Project.
- A $5 million contract with Infrastructure Engineering, Chicago, for construction management services upon request on the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) and systemwide.
Illinois Tollway professional engineering services contracts are selected in accordance with 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.
Contract services staff from the Engineering Department checks statements of interest to ensure that specified pre-qualifications and documentation requirements are met. Tollway engineers and managers then review and score statements of interest based on the advertised selection criteria service. Tollway Diversity Department staff also reviews the statements of interest for compliance with advertised diversity criteria. Executives from the Engineering Department then review the scoring, as well as each firm’s capacity, and identify the top recommended firms per project.
To complete the selection, 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 award of a professional engineering services contract is dependent on approval by the Tollway Board of Directors.
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.
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.
