Illinois Tollway Takes Home Three IBTTA Awards
The Illinois Tollway hit the awards trifecta, winning three awards from the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association – including top honors among all winners of the coveted Toll Excellence Awards.
Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse picked up the new hardware at the IBTTA’s 91st Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Seattle. Honors included:
• A Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award for the Illinois Tollway Partnering for Growth Program
• A Toll Excellence Award in the Technology category for the TIMS2GO Mobile Incident Response Tool
• TIMS2GO also received the IBTTA President’s Award, which is selected from among all the public- and private-sector winners of the Toll Excellence Awards
“I am thrilled that IBTTA, the worldwide tolling industry association, recognizes the great work being accomplished by the Illinois Tollway,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse. “These awards affirm the breadth and depth of expertise we have throughout the agency, from creating economic opportunities for entrepreneurs through our diversity programs to making our roadways safe for customers and workers on our roadways alike by using innovative mobile technology solutions. I couldn’t be prouder of Team Tollway.”
The IBTTA DEI Awards recognize toll agencies and private-sector organizations that make significant contributions to advancing racial justice, equity, inclusion and meaning opportunities in society.
The Tollway received a DEI Award for its Partnering for Growth Program. The mentorship program encourages prime consultants and contractors to assist disadvantaged, minority- and women-owned business enterprise firms, veteran-owned firms and small businesses in remaining self-sufficient, competitive and profitable.
Launched in 2007, Partnering for Growth has proven to be the most effective route on the path to prime opportunities and meaningful participation on Tollway contracts for small and diverse firms. Of the 113 professional engineering services firms participating in the program, 48 have gone on to win prime contracts with the Illinois Tollway. And of 25 construction firms in the program, six have been awarded prime contracts with the Tollway. In total, the Tollway has executed nearly 230 agreements, with protégé firms earning nearly $200 million working on Tollway contracts.
IBTTA Toll Excellence Awards recognize the very best projects and programs the international tolling community has to offer in six categories: Administration & Finance, Customer Service and Marketing Outreach, Safety, Social Responsibility, Technology and Toll Operations, Engineering & Maintenance. The awards celebrate public agencies and private firms whose creative, innovative and positive programs set a new standard for excellence. The prestigious President’s Award is given to one of the Toll Excellence Award winners.
TIMS2GO picked up a Toll Excellence Award in the technology category and received top honors, as well. The mobile-friendly web application enables traffic and incident managers to quickly verify incident details, make informed decisions and manage incidents. TIMS2GO puts all the resources of the Tollway Traffic Operations Center, including the extensive amount of traffic information gathered through the Traffic and Information Management System (TIMS) advanced traffic management system, in the palms of the hands of traffic and incident managers anytime from anywhere using any smartphone, tablet or laptop.
TIMS2GO provides instant access to livestreaming video, incident details and response status updates. It allows traffic managers to share information with Illinois State Police Troop 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.
“The Illinois Tollway Board of Directors and I make putting the safety of our customers and employees on the roadways first,” said Rouse in accepting the award for TIMS2GO. “This culture of safety at the Tollway provides an environment that encourages our staff to come up with new ideas, collaborate across different departments and come up with innovative solutions.”