Construction and Engineering Overview

 

This section serves as a central repository for Tollway engineering standards and publications.

Documents found on this site will principally be used by Tollway project managers to guide design section engineers and construction managers during design development and contract implementation. The most current and up-to-date documents adopted by the Tollway will be posted.

View construction pay estimates and professional services invoices for work completed on Illinois Tollway contracts.

Financial and Conflict of Interest Disclosure Forms

 

The Prime or General Contractor is responsible for completing and submitting the Certification and Financial and Conflict of Interest Disclosures with the bid / offer. Failure to submit completed forms will result in the bid / offer as being deemed non-responsive. The Prime or General Contractor awarded a Tollway contract is required to implement and enforce the contract requirements applicable to its sub-contractors as a material condition of the contract.

The Prime or General Contractor will continue to identify sub-contractor(s) to the extent the information is known at the time of the bid or offer. The contract bid / offer documents shall include the names, addresses and type of work for all known sub-contractors, as well as the estimated monetary value each is anticipated to receive under the contract. The Prime or General Contractor is to utilize the "Subcontractor Information/Delinquent Debt Review Certification" form (included in the Certification / Disclosure forms) to identify known sub-contractors and contract values with the bid / offer. An attachment listing known sub-contractors is acceptable.

Those known sub-contractors whose annual contract value with agencies of the State of Illinois exceeds $50,000 shall provide their IPG registration number or SEPARATELY complete and submit the Certification/Disclosure forms to the Prime within 15 days of contract execution (generally the Notice to Proceed date), or after execution of the subcontract, whichever is later. The Prime shall submit the IPG registration number or completed forms to the State Purchasing Officer (SPO) through the General Manager of Engineering. See the Tollway website for additional information.

The Procurement Code requires annual re-certification for multi-year contracts in accordance with the state's fiscal year which begins July 1st.

Earned Credit Program

The Earned Credit Program (ECP) is a rewards initiative that allows contractors and subcontractors to earn bid credits toward future Tollway construction bids when they hire from a pool of qualified, pre-screened job candidates, including underemployed African-Americans, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, women, eligible offenders and exonerated individuals, veterans and other Workforce Investment Act eligible individuals.

Be Competitive with ECP

Bid credits can afford contractors and subcontractors a bidding advantage in a highly competitive industry. A contractor can lower bids and increase the chances of winning contracts by applying ECP to construction bids. Subcontractor-earned ECP credits can also be added to a prime contractor's bid in order to lower bids.

Nearly 40 Tollway contracts with a cumulative value exceeding $465 million have been awarded based on the use of ECP credits.

Learn more about Bid Credit Incentives

ECP Hiring Portal

This portal provides an interactive tool which allows contractors to review, select and contact eligible ECP candidates. Designed to streamline the ECP hiring process, this portal contains the candidate’s resume, certificates and completed safety training courses. Candidate information is provided by and maintained by trade organizations, advocacy and workforce training agencies.

QUESTIONS: Contact the Illinois Tollway Diversity Department online or call 630.241.6800 with questions about this service.

 

We encourage contractors to log in regularly. The database is routinely updated with new applicants.
ECP Hiring Portal

How the ECP Works for Contractors

Find out if you are eligible

Any contractor or subcontractor who has had a previous Tollway construction contract, a current Tollway construction contract or who is seeking to bid on a future Tollway construction contract is eligible to participate in the ECP.

Hire an ECP Worker

Contractors and subcontractors can contact the Tollway to request applicants from a pool of candidates with construction experience who are pre-qualified by the Illinois Department of Employment Security and meet state and construction employment requirements. A list of qualified referrals will be provided by the Tollway for your consideration.

Contractors or subcontractors can hire an eligible first-time ECP worker and receive a $5,000 bonus bid credit when the ECP worker has accumulated 160 hours or more of work.

Retain the ECP Worker and Continue to Accumulate Bid Credits

Retain the ECP worker and continue to earn bid credits on wages paid by your firm on any project in the State of Illinois. The ECP worker can continue to earn bid credits for your firm for up to five years. Since ECP bid credits do not expire, credits can be applied to future bids on Tollway construction projects. Earn bid credits at the following rates.

  • Operating engineers and structural steel ironworkers: 50 cents for every dollar earned
  • All other skilled trades and fabricators: 40 cents for every dollar earned
  • Laborers: 30 cents for every dollar earned

Marketing Edge for Subcontractors

Subcontractor-earned credits can be added to a prime contractor's bid in order to increase the chances of winning the contract as the low bidder.

Submit ECP Credits to Compete

For the ECP credits to be considered toward a bid, the submission must include an ECP certificate owned by the prime bidder. ECP credits submitted by subcontractors alone cannot be used and will not be considered.

Bid Credit Schedule

Requests submitted for ECP bid credits will be processed on the following schedule:

  • Monthly requests issued within two weeks
  • All other requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis

This schedule ensures timely processing and provides contractors with up-to-date bid certificate information. All requests for ECP certificates must be made using Form 0006 and be accompanied by appropriate payroll reports.

For More Information

Contact the Earned Credit Program Team

ECP Operations Guide (04/2018)

Special Provisions for Bid Credit Incentive Program (04/2018)

ECP Brochure (02/2019)

Professional Services Questions

The Illinois Tollway's purchases are done in compliance with the Illinois Procurement Code.

Construction procurements are done under the rules of the Illinois Department of Transportation or the Illinois Capital Development Board.

What Are Engineering Professional Services?

Professional services contracts are solicited and awarded in accordance with the Architectural, Engineering, and Land Surveying Qualifications Based Selection Act (30ILCS535). A Professional Services Bulletin consisting of planning, design and/or construction projects is prepared and posted. Letters of interest from Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) pre-qualified consultants, which must include the firm's qualifications proposed for use on the advertised projects, are solicited.

A committee consisting of representatives from the Tollway, IDOT and the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers reviews and evaluates each firm on technical qualifications. The selection committee's choice is based solely upon these qualifications. The projects include a 20 percent D/M/WBE participation goal.

How do I get started?

For engineering professional services, you should seek to become pre-qualified by IDOT. Information can be found on IDOT's website (www.dot.state.il.us). For general construction work, download the Illinois Tollway's Bidders Application and mail or fax it in. You will be notified when the Illinois Tollway is seeking bids for services that you have selected.

Current Tollway Construction Bid Opportunities

How do I find out who was awarded a bid?

Awards of engineering professional services are published on the Professional Services Bulletin page. Download Construction Bid Awards to see Illinois Tollway awards for non-engineering professional services. The Illinois Tollway will make available for inspection conflict of interest disclosure forms for any prime or subcontractor with the Illinois Tollway with work exceeding $50,000 annually without the necessity of a FOIA. Should you have an interest in inspecting these documents please click below to email the Tollway ethics officer to set up an appointment. Additional information may be obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

To set up an appointment to inspect a conflict of interest form

For more information on the Freedom of Information Act

This information is provided to the public as a guideline. If any of the information contained herein is in conflict with the bid documents, state rules or state statute, then the documents, rules or statute will take precedence.

 

Job Order Contracting

The Job Order Contracting (JOC) Program is a project delivery method that enables the Illinois Tollway to accomplish a high volume of facility repairs and individual construction projects with a single, competitively bid contract, eliminating the time and expense of the typical design-bid-construct cycle for each project. General contractors competitively bid from catalog of construction tasks with pre-set unit prices based on the regional market.

Handling more than 1,000 JOC job orders effectively over the past seven years, the JOC Program allows the Illinois Tollway to decrease project duration and cost, while increasing quality and maintaining a strong presence in the local construction community.

In January 2024, the Illinois Tollway awarded eleven contracts for the JOC Facilities, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and JOC Roadway Programs on a three-year contract to perform various facility and roadway repairs, urgent needs, agency initiatives, and various construction projects throughout the Tollway system, with a total work value capacity of approximately $38.5 million.

In most cases, the JOC prime contractors rely on sub-contractors to perform tasks related to each project.

How JOC Works for the Tollway

JOC provides another avenue for the Tollway to establish and pursue initiatives unique to the agency through BEP, Veteran, and Small Business Initiative participation.

JOC allows the Tollway to expand its network and facilitates the development of ongoing partnerships with vendors who can participate in Tollway projects through the prime contractors and familiarize themselves with the Tollway for future opportunities.

 

Upcoming JOC Projects (COMING SOON)

View the JOC Contractor Directory