Tollway Stories & More—2022 Volume 8

Volume 08, 2022

Illinois Tollway Welcomes Cassaundra Rouse as Executive Director

The Illinois Tollway announced the promotion of Cassaundra Rouse to Executive Director on August 23.

“Cassaundra’s prior experience in audit and compliance, as well as her longstanding experience in other leadership roles at the Illinois Tollway, will allow her to hit the ground running as Executive Director,” said Illinois Tollway Board Chair Dorothy Abreu. “I also want to thank Lanyea Griffin for her long-standing Tollway service, especially during this time of transition.”

Braving Intense Flames, Tollway Maintenance Worker Rescues Woman from Burning Vehicle

When Illinois Tollway road worker Keith Olson reached the crash on the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355), he faced a chaotic scene that included an SUV flipped on its side and a crumpled convertible with flames six feet high shooting from its hood. A third heavily damaged vehicle sat nearby.

“It was a bad one,” said Olson, who was the first emergency responder to reach the July 22 crash near Roosevelt Road. “I had a car on fire on the right shoulder, and it was spun around so it was pointing northbound in the southbound lanes.”

Read more at Inside the Tollway

Now Manage I-PASS Directly Through the Official App of the Illinois Tollway

Customers are now able to fully manage I-PASS accounts through their smartphone or mobile device, with enhanced features to keep you on top of your travel needs.

Benefits include –

Enhanced account notifications to keep accounts up to date
Biometric login capabilities for secure account access
Full account management including:

Adding or purchasing transponders
Managing vehicles, including rental vehicles
Adding and changing payment methods
Viewing account history

To Get the I-PASS App and Get Going, visit illinoistollway.com or visit your device’s app store today!

APWA Awards Its Technical Innovation Award to Illinois Tollway

The Illinois Tollway’s Roadway Maintenance team received the American Public Works Association 2022 Technical Innovation Award in August for its TIMS2GO Mobile Incident Response Tool.

TIMS2GO was highlighted among this year’s APWA Award winners in the August issue of the APWA Reporter magazine.

The Technical Innovation Award recognizes the development, management and implementation of a creative idea, program, process or system that enhances the delivery of public works services to the public.

The Tollway achieved the highest score among all submissions for the Technical Innovation Award and TIMS2GO was the “clear winner,” according to APWA.

TIMS2GO is a unique mobile application that puts all the ITS resources of the Illinois Tollway’s Traffic Operations Center, including its Traffic and Incident Management System (TIMS), in the palms of the hands of traffic managers. It gives traffic managers the ability to gather real-time incident information and direct the appropriate resources to respond anytime from anywhere using any smartphone, tablet or laptop.

A demonstration of TIMS2GO can be seen here.

Read more at Inside the Tollway

Illinois State Police District 15 Rises to the Traffic Safety Challenge

The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police Traffic Safety Challenge is a friendly competition among Illinois law enforcement agencies to annually highlight the great work they’re doing in their communities to successfully identify traffic issues and implement strategies to reduce crashes and related deaths and injuries.

It’s also a chance to compete for bragging rights.

Illinois State Police District 15, the district that patrols the Illinois Tollway system, can boast it is one of the top law enforcement agencies in the state in 2022.

Read more at Inside the Tollway

Illinois Tollway Finds a Place at Rail Industry Conference

The Illinois Tollway typically stays in its lane when talking about ongoing construction projects.

But the opportunity to do a joint presentation with two of the nation’s largest railroads at one of the biggest rail industry conferences was just the ticket to spotlight the Tollway’s cooperation with railroads to keep the I-490 Tollway Project on track.

Read more at Inside the Tollway

Illinois Tollway Shares Experience Building a Successful Mentorship Program with American Contract Compliance Association Members

The Illinois Tollway welcomed an invitation from the American Contract Compliance Association (ACCA) to showcase its Partnering For Growth Program at this year’s National Training Institute in North Carolina.

ACCA is committed to empowering professionals in their fields of expertise and ensuring equitable employment and contracting practices within the public and private sectors.

Read more at Inside the Tollway

Hawaii-based Construction Management firm says “Aloha” to Illinois, Joins Tollway’s Partnering for Growth Program

On the surface, there may not be a lot of similarities between Hawaii and Illinois.

But when Honolulu-based QRSE LLC was looking for opportunities to expand its engineering business beyond the Hawaiian Islands, it chose to open an office 4,000-some miles away in the Land of Lincoln.

QRSE Founder and President Kai Nani Kraut identified the Illinois Tollway’s Partnering for Growth Program as a viable path to continue expanding her business in Illinois.

Read more at Inside the Tollway

Work Pours In After Concrete Cutting Firm Joins Illinois Tollway's Technical Assistance Program

When he started Allstate Concrete Cutting more than 10 years ago, Mike Seay operated out of a cramped, 3,500-square-foot shop and relied on a workforce of about 8 employees, who primarily removed old concrete from roads and bridges so they could be rebuilt or replaced.

This year, he’s employing about 45 workers who are involved in a number of projects on the Illinois Tollway system, including removing old concrete on a portion of the Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294), taking down the Hinsdale Oasis pavilion and sealing new asphalt being laid on a six-mile stretch of I-94 in Lake County.

Read more at Inside the Tollway

Families Flock to Second Kids Identification and Safety Seat Event Held in 2022

Taking a step to protect their children when they’re on the road or out in their communities, parents brought their youngsters to the second Kids Identification and Safety Seat (K.I.S.S.) event hosted this summer by the Illinois Tollway and Illinois State Police as part of their Operation Kid 2022 safety program.

The August 27 event at the Children’s Museum in Oak Lawn allowed parents to obtain free ID cards for their young children and have the child safety seats in their vehicles installed or inspected to ensure they are properly placed.