Inside the Tollway

Despite dealing with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Illinois Tollway in 2020 succeeded in providing diverse firms with greater opportunities to participate in its Move Illinois Capital  Program as minority-owned businesses last year won construction contracts worth $348 million, or nearly 26 percent of the $1.34 billion in contracts awarded. That’s a jump from 2019, when small, diverse and veteran-owned firms won about 22 percent of the $655 million in construction contracts awarded by the Tollway in the ninth year of its 15-year, $14 billion Move Illinois Program.Diverse firms won an even bigger share in 2020 of contracts for professional design and engineering services, with minority-owned businesses winning 62 percent of the $169 million in contracts awarded—nearly double the share of those contracts D/M/WBE firms won in 2019.Increasing participation by D/M/WBE firms in Tollway projects not only benefits those businesses, but also increases competition for agency contracts, typically resulting in the Tollway paying lower costs for roadway work.“We’re pleased that our efforts to support diverse businesses are resulting in more of these firms winning contracts to work on our Move Illinois program, which helps those business flourish and provides an expanded pool of qualified contractors who are able to bid on future contracts,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director José Alvarez. “Even with this progress, we know we have more work to do to ensure the businesses and workers delivering these roadway improvements are as diverse as the communities we serve across northern Illinois.”The value of contracts won by African American-owned construction firms and Hispanic-owned construction firms soared in 2020 compared to the previous year. African American-owned firms won construction contracts valued at $37.6 million, an increase of nearly 150 percent from the $15.2 million in construction contracts awarded to those businesses in...