Sprawling construction along the Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) and on the new I-490 Tollway is drawing the attention of drivers and media outlets.

It’s hard to miss—towering cranes and massive backhoes are common sights for drivers as the Illinois Tollway invests nearly $1.5 billion in 2022 to improve and expand its system, with much of that work occurring along I-294, where the agency is widening and reconstructing 22 miles of roadway between Rosemont and Oak Lawn.

More work is underway to continue constructing I-490, a new Tollway that will skirt O’Hare Airport and, when completed, provide new access to the airport while also creating new links to existing highways.

A better understanding of the various types of certifications accepted for different types of Tollway contracts – construction, professional engineering services and goods and services – can be a game-changer for small and diverse firms, opening up contract opportunities that they may not have known they could pursue.

Tollway Chief of the Department of Diversity and Strategic Development Terry Miller, Chief of Contract Compliance Angela Arrington-Jones and Deputy Chief of Contract Compliance Sainey Jobe met with about 50 construction industry professionals at the Black Contractors, Owners and Executives monthly meeting in May on the South Side of Chicago. 

The Illinois Tollway, in partnership with Inner-City Underwriting Agency and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, introduced local communities to its expanded Technical Assistance Program at six open house events across Northern Illinois.

The open house events held on the South Side of Chicago, downtown Chicago, Aurora, Matteson, Rockford and Waukegan attracted more than 160 entrepreneurs and industry professionals from small and diverse construction and professional engineering services firms.

Tollway leadership also was on hand to meet with attendees and answer questions, including Interim Executive Director Lanyea Griffin, Chief Operating Officer Cassaundra Rouse and Chief of Diversity and Strategic Development Terry Miller, as well as key Diversity Department staff members.

The Technical Assistance Program is available at nine offices throughout Northern Illinois, with five in Chicago and others in Aurora, Matteson, Rockford and Waukegan. More information about the program is here on the Illinois Tollway website in the Doing Business section under Diversity Programs.  

The Society of American Military Engineers, Lake Michigan Post, brought together a broad range of government agency officials to discuss the impact of the federal stimulus on the regional transportation network and the highway construction industry.

About 75 military and civilian engineering and construction industry professionals attended the 15th annual SAME LMP Industry Day event recently in Lake Forest to hear from federal, state and local agency officials.

With tax season over, a group of more than 100 Chicago-area tax professionals turned their attention from 1040s to 294 in May – as in Interstate 294.

The Chicago Tax Club recently invited the Illinois Tollway to provide an in-depth look at the $4 billion Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) Project during its annual joint meeting with the Council on State Taxation in Rolling Meadows.

Deputy Chief of Program Implementation Peter Foernssler, who is responsible for leading the I-294 Project, provided an overview, highlighted key features and discussed its benefits for Tollway customers and the region.

Of particular interest was how the Tollway manages to keep traffic moving through the 22-mile I-294 corridor from 95th Street to Balmoral Avenue with minimal inconvenience to motorists.

Foernssler explained how the Tollway minimizes disruptions for customers by maintaining four lanes of traffic in each direction throughout construction, using shoulder closures and lane shifts to safely accommodate traffic while providing room for a work zone, and by scheduling work to take place on different segments of the roadway at different times. Work on the project started in 2018 and is scheduled to be completed in 2026.

One of the largest and most complex transportation infrastructure projects in the history of the Illinois Tollway, the I-294 Project is providing congestion relief, reconstructing old infrastructure to meet current and future transportation demand and addressing regional needs.

The project includes reconfiguring the I-290/I-88 Interchange at I-294, rebuilding the Mile Long Bridge and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Bridge, as well as integrating Flex Lanes and SmartRoad technology.

More information about the I-294 Project can be found here. 

The crew at the Illinois Tollway’s Aurora (M-8) maintenance facility doesn’t start each day with a morning meeting; they call it “church” because it’s where they preach about the importance of safety.

“We call it ‘church,’ but it’s more like a pre-game pep talk for our team,” says M-8 Manager Brian Fuqua, a former high school football and wrestling coach. “We try to make them feel good before they go out, make sure they have their heads in the game.” Fuqua preaches the importance of taking ownership, being prepared and having fun while making it a priority to keep their section of the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88), from Sugar Grove to Oak Brook, safe and clean for Illinois Tollway customers.

Training new Illinois Tollway road workers is critical to make sure they learn the specific skills--operating heavy equipment, using cutting torches, programming electronic traffic control signs--needed to safely do their jobs.

But the Tollway doesn’t just rely on training, it also tests newer workers to determine if they’ve mastered the skills they have to use daily to keep the roads open and Tollway customers safe.

Every year, equipment operators/laborers have the opportunity to demonstrate in a certification test they’ve become proficient at doing that work.