The final segment of the new I-294/I-57 Interchange has yet to open but it’s already helped steer millions of square feet of new commercial development to the Chicago Southland communities around it, which in turn have generated thousands of new jobs in the region.

New warehouses, logistics centers and manufacturing firms—an estimated 15 million square feet of new commercial space--began popping up following the 2014 opening of the first phase of the interchange project and in anticipation of the planned September opening of the second phase, which will provide the final connections linking the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) with I-57.

The Illinois Tollway gave an international audience of ITS

professionals a close-up look at TIMS2GO.

The Tollway’s TIMS2GO mobile incident response tool was featured at the recent ITS World Congress, an international conference that attracts hundreds of professionals from the intelligent transportation systems industry.

The annual event highlights the latest developments in ITS technologies used to save lives, improve mobility, promote sustainability and increase efficiency and productivity.

Launched in late 2020, the TIMS2GO mobile incident response tool was featured at the ITS Midwest annual meeting in November 2021. There it caught the attention of organizers for the ITS World Congress, who invited the Tollway to demonstrate TIMS2GO at its fall conference.

Steven Mednis, general manager of Traffic and Incident Management at the Illinois Tollway, detailed how

TIMS2GO was developed as a tool to allow traffic and incident managers to gather real-time incident

information and direct appropriate resources respond to roadway incidents anytime from anywhere using a smartphone, table or laptop.

In short, TIMS2GO puts the Tollway’s ITS technologies into the palms of the hands of its traffic and incident managers.

TIMS2GO provides instant access to livestreaming video, incident details and response status updates. It allows traffic managers to share information with Illinois State Police District 15, which is responsible for patrolling the Tollway system, as well as other emergency responders. TIMS2GO also provides traffic data trends, ITS equipment inventory information and real-time event statistics to help traffic managers make better-informed decisions.

Go here to see TIMS2GO in action.

Looking for a new career path while working for a large consulting firm, Deepi Ahuja saw an opportunity to take a different road that led her back to her roots in the construction industry.

Already an engineer, Ahuja—whose family has owned a construction company for decades--started her own construction business in 2018 to fill a specialized niche: Doing excavating work and installing underground water and sewer lines.

“I was looking to shift gears and try something different,” Ahuja recalled. “A lot of my background was in construction, so that’s the direction I went. You get to problem solve and then see things come to life—it’s exciting.”

The Illinois Tollway hosted its annual series of virtual workshops in September to provide updates on best practices and lessons learned for construction managers working to deliver projects for the agency’s 15-year, $14 billion Move Illinois capital program. 

“Construction managers play a vital role in making sure Tollway delivers quality work and that projects are completed on time and within budget,” said Illinois Tollway Acting Chief Engineering Officer Manar Nashif. “The CM Workshop equips construction managers with the knowledge they need to effectively oversee those projects from start to finish.”

The three-day Construction Managers Workshop included 16 presentations by staff from the Tollway, GEC, PMO and industry partners.

Topics included CM manual requirements, authorization to proceed requests, bridge construction, guardrails and barriers, maintenance of traffic, intelligent transportation system technologies, 3D modeling, drones, fiber-optic cable, materials quality assurance/quality control, erosion control, construction audits and closeout and surety.

The CM workshop attracted an average of 100 participants each day. Construction managers actively working or looking to work on Tollway projects are encouraged to participate and receive professional development hour credits for each session they attend.

As with the Design and Construction Practices Workshop this past spring, many of the presenters used virtual green screen technology to create more engaging live presentations. All the online sessions provided the audience an opportunity to ask questions and give feedback.

Recordings of the sessions will be posted on e-Builder for construction managers to use as future reference.