Illinois Tollway awards nearly $19.8 million in construction contracts in May

The Illinois Tollway Board of Directors approved three new construction contracts totaling nearly $19.8 million at its May board meeting, according to a May 21 announcement from the agency.

So far in 2026, the Tollway Board has approved approximately $233.9 million in contracts, with $44.6 million allocated as part of the fifteenth year of the 16-year, $15 billion Move Illinois capital program and $189.3 million as part of the seven-year, $2 billion Bridging the Future capital plan. The Illinois Tollway’s 2026 capital program is set to invest a total of $1.26 billion.

"Now beginning its second year, our Bridging the Future capital plan is guiding the Tollway as we invest in work that improves mobility, maintains and modernizes infrastructure to ensure we are meeting our customers’ needs," said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse. "The contracts approved today focus on preventative maintenance that extends the service life of our bridges and keeps the system in a state of good repair." The awarded contracts include an $8.6 million agreement with K-Five Construction Corp for pavement and structural rehabilitation on Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355), a $5.3 million contract with Rausch Infrastructure for bridge rehabilitation on Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294), and a $5.8 million contract with Lorig Construction Co for systemwide structural rehabilitation.

The May contracts involve participation from 11 certified disadvantaged, minority-, and women-owned business enterprise firms as well as five certified veteran-owned firms. Commitments for disadvantaged business participation range from 18.15 percent to 23.03 percent per contract; veteran participation ranges from 2 percent to 4.39 percent per contract.

Since 2012, more than $12.2 billion has been invested by the Illinois Tollway through its capital programs, including over $3.2 billion committed to small, diverse, and veteran-owned firms; these investments have created or sustained an estimated total of 152,930 jobs as of April 2026.

Construction contracts are competitively bid under rules established by the Illinois Procurement Code; all public meetings—including board meetings and bid openings—are broadcast on www.illinoistollway.com, where detailed information about current projects is also available.