The Illinois Tollway board of directors recently approved three new construction contracts and 12 engineering contracts totaling $81.6 million. Approval of the January contracts marks the start of the third year of the Tollway’s 15-year, $12 billion capital program, Move Illinois: The Illinois Tollway Driving the Future.
As of January, more than $1.8 billion in construction and engineering contracts have been approved by the Tollway board since the Move Illinois Program began in 2012. In addition, the capital program has created or sustained an estimated 9,950 total jobs as of December 2013.
“The Tollway’s Move Illinois Program is playing a vital role in keeping the Illinois economy moving,” said Gov. Pat Quinn. “More construction and engineering companies are successfully competing for contracts and supporting thousands of construction jobs throughout the region.”
“The Illinois Tollway continues to create jobs and provide opportunities for firms of all sizes as we begin the third year of the Move Illinois Program,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur. “In fact, more than one-third of contractors and consultants working on the Move Illinois Program are working with the Tollway for the first time.”
In addition, contracts approved commit more than $34 million for work on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) Rebuilding and Widening Project. To date, nearly $1.1 billion in contracts have been approved for work on I-90 including nearly 295 unique businesses — with more than 60 of those businesses working with the Tollway for the first time. Work to rebuild and widen I-90 from Rockford to Chicago began in 2013 and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2016.
The 15 new contracts approved include 8 contractors/consultants and 26 subcontractors/subconsultants that are certified as disadvantaged, minority- and women-owned business enterprises (D/M/WBE). Commitments for D/M/WBE participation range from 11 to 100 percent per contract. Of the $81.6 million in awarded contracts, $36 million or 44 percent is committed to these firms.
Construction contracts awarded for the I-90 Rebuilding and Widening Project include:
• A $12.6 million contract to Plote Construction Inc., Hoffman Estates, Ill., for construction of retaining walls and noisewalls between Illinois Route 25 and Illinois Route 59.
• A $10.4 million contract to Meade Inc., McCook, Ill., for electrical work between the Kishwaukee River and the Elgin Toll Plaza.
• $4.1 million to F.H. Paschen, S.N. Nielsen & Associates LLC, Chicago, Ill., for demolition of the Des Plaines Oasis building over I-90.
Engineering contracts awarded include:
• A $7 million contract with Omega & Associates Inc., Lisle, Ill., and AMEC Environment & Infrastructure Inc., Chicago, Ill., joint venture, for construction management services upon request on I-90.
• A $6.5 million contract with Cotter Consulting Inc., Chicago, Ill., and CivCon Services Inc., Chicago, Ill., joint venture, for construction management services upon request.
• A $6.5 million contract with EJM Engineering Inc., Chicago, Ill., for design services upon request.
• A $5 million contract with Accurate Group Inc., Lincolnshire, Ill., for construction management services upon request.
• A $5 million contract with HBK Engineering LLC, Chicago, Ill., for utility location and identification services upon request.
• A $5 million contract with S.T.A.T.E. Testing LLC, East Dundee, Ill., for materials engineering services upon request.
• A $4.2 million contract with Civiltech Engineering Inc., Itasca, Ill., for construction management services for advance bridge construction and grading for the Elgin O’Hare Western Access Project between I-290 and Illinois Route 83.
• A $4 million contract with Infrastructure Engineering Inc., Chicago, Ill., for design services upon request.
• A $3.3 million contract with Parsons Transportation Group Inc., Chicago, Ill., for design services for roadway reconstruction on the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) between the York Road Toll Plaza and I-290.
• A $3 million contract with Graef-USA Inc., Milwaukee, Wisc., for design and construction management services upon request for the Elgin O’Hare Western Access Project.
• A $2.5 million contract with David Mason & Associates of Illinois Ltd., Chicago, Ill., and Horner & Shifrin Inc., O’Fallon, Ill., joint venture, for design services upon request.
• A $2.5 million contract with Atlas Engineering Group Ltd., Northbrook, Ill., for construction management services upon request.
Construction and utility 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 also are broadcast live on the Tollway’s Web site. 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 Web site 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 Web site.
Illinois Tollway engineering 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.
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