Nov. 27, 2024

Employee profile: Debra Lee, bureau chief of Small Business Enterprises

Bureau Chief of Small Business Enterprises Debra Lee has worked at IDOT for the past 24 years, starting as a civil engineer in Construction and Design. After 10 years, she became the contract compliance officer in District 9. She has also worked with recruitment and volunteered with the Employee Assistance Program.

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New Will County DBE resource center open

A new local resource center in Will County for IDOT’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program is open to help create more opportunities for minority- and female-owned firms to do business on Interstate 80 and other area projects.

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IDOT hosts career fairs in Chicago and Collinsville

Region 1, District 1: Repairs are underway to the bridges carrying Ohio and Ontario streets over the North Branch of the Chicago River, Union Pacific Railroad and Kingsbury Street, in Chicago.

Ohio and Ontario streets will be reduced from three to two lanes between Kennedy and Orleans Street. The $15.4 million project, which includes new expansion joints, structural steel and deck repairs along with the installation of a new deck overlay and resurfacing, is anticipated to be completed in late fall 2025.

Region 3, District 5: The first new ramp in the I-57/74 interchange project in Champaign has opened to traffic. The ramp, which connects westbound I-74 to northbound I-57, is a major milestone for the $251.8 million I-57/74 interchange project.

This multi-year rehabilitation project, which broke ground in 2021, is the culmination of several projects to rebuild a critical regional freight juncture serving almost 40,000 vehicles a day with nearly 25% being freight trucks.

Letting Update

Jan. 17 is the first letting for statewide construction projects that are scheduled in 2025. Here are some dates to note in advance of the letting.

• Dec. 6 at 10 a.m. Transportation Bulletin release (Official advertisement of projects.) 
• Dec. 27 at 4:30 p.m. Prequalification cutoff (Date that contractors must be qualified to bid on contracts.)
• Jan. 10 at 4:30 p.m. Joint venture cutoff (three contractor limit. Date for these groups who want to bid can do so).   
• Jan. 14 at 4:30 p.m. Request for authorization to bid cutoff (Final date for contractors who are authorized to bid on contracts). 
• Jan. 17 at noon Letting (Bids can be submitted until 11:59 a.m. on the day. Bids are shut down at noon). 

If you are new to the IDOT bid letting process or need updated information, following are some helpful resources:

• Transportation Bulletin
• EBids
• Letting Schedule
• Electronic Subscription Service
• Prequalification
• Authorization to Bid
• Bid Bonds