The Illinois Tollway has expanded its Technical Assistance Program, in partnership with Inner-City Underwriting Agency Inc. and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, to help small, diverse and veteran-owned firms learn how to succeed in doing business with the Tollway.

“The Illinois Tollway plays a vital role in economic development and job creation throughout Northern Illinois, offering significant opportunities for a diverse range of firms to grow, thrive and make greater contributions to their local communities,” said Illinois Tollway Interim Executive Director Lanyea Griffin. 

To keep its customers safe and protect its multi-billion investments in its roadways, bridges and infrastructure, the Illinois Tollway is upgrading its virtual systems to identify over-height and overweight commercial vehicles.

Over-height vehicles can crash into overhead signage or bridges, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage and significant travel delays for everyone on the roadway.

Overweight trucks put greater stress on roadway pavement, shorten its lifespan and decrease reliability. Trucks weighing as little as 5 percent over the legal limit could cut five and a half years off the life of pavement designed to last 30 years, according to the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials.

Illinois Tollway Interim Executive Director Lanyea Griffin brought together elected officials in April for a 2022 update on the Elgin O’Hare Western Access Project progress.

Griffin, along with Tollway project staff, provided community leaders with the construction status of the new I-490 Tollway, highlighting the recent completion of agreements with the City of Chicago and O’Hare International Airport necessary to move the project forward. 

Driving in Illinois was different In 1922: Cars lacked basic features like seatbelts and automatic transmissions, and there were no high-speed, interstate roads drivers could jump on to quickly reach their destination.

But one thing was the same: Illinois State Police were out on the road, protecting and assisting drivers.

Then known as the Illinois State Highway Police, the new agency’s first 8 officers began patrolling the state’s roads on April 1, 1922.

The Illinois Tollway’s TIMS2GO mobile incident response tool has earned the American Public Works Association’s 2022 Technical Innovation Award. 

The national 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. 

TIMS2GO measures up to those standards. 

The unique mobile app puts all the intelligent transportation system resources of the Illinois Tollway Traffic Operations Center, including its Traffic and Incident Management System (TIMS), in the palms of the hands of traffic managers.

The Illinois Tollway, in conjunction with American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Illinois, hosted its 2022 Design and Construction Practices Workshop during April. 

The annual week-long workshops consisted of 19 presentations, with presenters participating from the Illinois Tollway, Illinois Tollway GEC, Illinois Tollway PMO and other external partners. Across all sessions, the workshops garnered 185 viewers.

Want to learn how to write a business email or create a video presentation?

How about developing new computer skills using software programs like Java and Excel

Or maybe you’re interested in picking up pointers on managing stress, starting a podcast or learning how to better secure financial information?

The Illinois Tollway is offering a LinkedIn Learning program to help employees gain new business-technology and creative skills by taking courses online to broaden their talents and, as a consequence, help the agency operate more effectively.