Illinois Tollway awards over $70 million in June construction and engineering contracts
The Illinois Tollway Board of Directors approved more than $70.4 million in new construction and professional engineering services contracts at its June meeting, according to a June 18 announcement. The nine contracts are intended to advance ongoing projects and provide opportunities for small and diverse businesses.
Illinois Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse said, “Supporting small construction and engineering firms benefits communities, our economy and the industry itself.” Rouse added, “Eight of the nine contracts approved today underscore the Tollway’s ongoing commitment to unbundling larger contracts into smaller jobs that give small and diverse firms a chance to compete.”
Among the awarded construction contracts is a $50.6 million contract to Aldridge Electric for installation of active traffic management systems on the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) between 95th Street and Balmoral Avenue. Other awards include noisewall construction by Rausch Infrastructure for $2.4 million, parking lot improvements by Valor Construction Services for $518,900, as well as several professional engineering services contracts ranging from $2 million to $3 million each with various Illinois-based firms.
The June contract awards include participation from 26 certified disadvantaged, minority- or women-owned business enterprise firms along with nine veteran-owned firms. Commitments for disadvantaged business participation range from 20.10 percent to 73 percent per contract; veteran participation commitments range from 1.51 percent up to 45 percent per contract.
In total for 2026 so far, more than $304.3 million in contracts have been approved by the board—$47.6 million under year fifteen of Move Illinois (the agency’s long-term capital program), and $256.7 million as part of Bridging the Future plan initiatives. Since 2012, over $12.3 billion has been invested through these programs; more than $3.3 billion has gone toward small, diverse or veteran-owned businesses while an estimated 153,720 jobs have been created or sustained as of May.
Professional engineering services are selected through a qualifications-based process required by state law, while construction projects follow competitive bidding under state procurement rules. The Illinois Tollway broadcasts all public meetings online, where details about current projects can also be found.