Tollway Stories & More—2024 Volume 04

Volume 4, 2024

HACIA Celebrates Illinois Tollway As Its 2024 Agency of the Year

The Illinois Tollway is honored to be named 2024 Agency of the Year by the Hispanic American Industry Association (HACIA) for its commendable leadership.

The HACIA Agency of the Year Award recognizes state and local government agencies that have worked in collaboration with HACIA to support the growth and success of the Chicago-area construction industry while demonstrating a proven track record of providing opportunities for small, diverse and veteran-owned firms.

Engaging Diversity Advisory Council For Feedback On Strategic And Capital Planning

The conversation around the Illinois Tollway’s strategic planning process and next capital plan is continuing…Great discussion this week with our Diversity Advisory Council leaders and State Rep. Will Davis as we work to engage business, industry, and community partners to envision future investments in our region.

Olive-Harvey College Students Explore Opportunities For Tollway Careers

The Illinois Tollway’s Alsip M-1 maintenance site staff recently opened their doors to students from Olive-Harvey College to introduce them to career opportunities offered by the Tollway and the transportation industry.

Students enrolled in the Automotive Technology Program at the South Side college along with faculty members toured the Tollway’s state-of-the-art roadway maintenance site to better understand the work done by the mechanics, equipment-operator/laborers and other staffers responsible for roadway services and maintenance on the southern leg of the Tri-State Tollway (I-294/I-80).

Expanded Job Order Contracting Program Creating More Opportunities for Small and Diverse Businesses

The Illinois Tollway is expanding its successful Job Order Contracting Program, including creating a new component that provides more opportunities for smaller firms to take on construction and repair work for the agency.

The new Small Business Initiative levels the playing field for smaller businesses, allowing them to serve as general contractors handling construction projects costing less than $100,000. Small businesses winning contracts can serve general contractor handling those smaller-scale projects across all or part of the Tollway system.

Contracts for the small business portion of the JOC Program are expected to be awarded later this year.

Illinois Tollway And ACEC Illinois Host Spring Workshop For Design And Construction Engineers

The Illinois Tollway and the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois hosted a forum for design and construction engineers to refresh their knowledge of technologies, best practices and manual and standards updates necessary to continue successfully delivering Tollway projects.

Illinois Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse and ACEC Illinois President and CEO Kevin Artl kicked off the 2024 Design and Construction Practices Workshop, followed by a full day of in-depth presentations by subject-matter experts sharing their insights on a wide range of engineering and transportation topics, from environmental best practices and deployment of new technologies to safety guidelines.

A “Hear from the Experts” panel discussion moderated by Chief of Planning Karyn Robles provided attendees an opportunity to hear from Tollway leadership about the key qualities of productive project team relationships – qualities such as good communication and flexibility. The panel included Deputy Chiefs of Program Implementation Jeff Allen, Sarah Kukadia and Cindy Williams, as well as General Manager of Diversity and Strategic Development Kristen Bennett. The workshop also included numerous presentations by Tollway staff and consultants.