Illinois to Invest $31 Million in 26 Cook County Construction Projects

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn announced investments of more than $31 million for construction projects in Cook County funded by the Illinois Jobs Now! program.

“These investments in Cook County are putting people to work, creating jobs that will help drive the local economy,” Governor Quinn said. “They are also helping to repair and maintain Illinois’ infrastructure to improve safety and efficiency throughout the region.”

These projects will be managed by the Illinois Department of Transportation:

1. Various state-maintained routes located in northern Cook County will receive intermittent resurfacing for $3,919,793 by J. A. Johnson Paving Company of Arlington Heights.
2. Replacement of curb and gutter, sidewalks, driveways, pavement markings and signage will be done at various locations within the Village of Bellwood for $185,902 by MYS, Incorporated of Palos Park, the lowest of five bidders.
3. 78th Avenue will receive resurfacing, curb and gutter replacement, patching and pavement marking from 87th Street to 79th Street in the Village of Bridgeview for $451,093 by James D. Fiala Paving Company Inc. of Bolingbrook, the lowest of four bidders.
4. Oketo Avenue will receive resurfacing, curb and gutter removal and replacement, pavement markings and sidewalk construction from 71st Street to 78th Street, and 84th Street to 87th Street in the Village of Bridgeview for $589,401 by Central Blacktop Co., Inc. of LaGrange, the lowest of four bidders.
5. llinois Route 72 will receive resurfacing, rumble strips, shoulder work and super elevation correction from 1.25 miles east of Roosevelt Road to the Kane County line.
6. Superstructure replacement will be done on a bridge carrying 63rd Street over I-90/94, and two intersections in Chicago will receive traffic signal modernization and other improvements for $8,348,846 by IHC Construction Companies, LLC of Elgin, the lowest of three bidders.
7. Removal and replacement of street lighting system will be done on 154th Street from Loomis Avenue to Broadway Avenue in the City of Harvey for $298,669 by Utility Dynamics Corporation of Oswego, the lowest of four bidders.
8. Ridge Road will receive resurfacing, curb and gutter removal and replacement, patching, driveway pavement removal and replacement, drainage structure adjustments and paving markings from Stove Island Avenue to Torrence Avenue in the Village of Lansing for $400,486 by D Construction Inc. of Coal City, the lowest of four bidders.
9. Intermittent resurfacing will be done on various state maintained routes in central Cook County for $1,567,879 by K-Five Construction Corporation of Lemont, the lower of two bidders.
10. Crawford Avenue/Pulaski Road will receive 1.47 miles of resurfacing from U.S. 6/159th Street to I-80 in Markham and County Club Hills for $1,003,455 by D Construction Inc. of Coal City, the lowest of three bidders.
11. Cicero Avenue will receive roadway lighting, sidewalk removal and construction and parkway restoration from Vollmer Road to Lincoln Highway in the Village of Matteson for $758,640 by H&H Electric Co. of Franklin Park, the lowest of six bidders.
12. A bridge carrying U.S. 30 over I-57 in Matteson will receive repairs for $299,999 by Rausch Construction Company Inc. of Broadview, the lowest of eight bidders.
13. North Avenue will receive pavement striping, curb and gutter replacement, drainage improvements, sidewalk removal and replacement and landscaping restoration from Railroad Avenue to Lavergna Avenue in the City of Northlake for $105,394 by MYS Incorporated of Palos Park, the lowest of six bidders.
14. Illinois Route 64 will receive curb and gutter replacement, surface and pavement removal, sidewalk replacement, storm sewer installation, pavement striping and landscaping restoration from Lavergne Avenue to Roy Avenue in the Village of Northlake for $903,578 by Lorusso Cement Contractors Inc. of West Chicago, the lowest of five bidders.
15. Resurfacing, crack control treatment, patching, sidewalk removal, curb and gutter replacement and pavement markings will be done from North Riverside Road Mall to Harlem Avenue in the Village of North Riverside for $546,895 by Triggi Construction Inc. of West Chicago, the lowest of six bidders.
16. Ridgeland Avenue will receive 2.03 miles of resurfacing, milling, patching, pavement markings and curb and sidewalk replacement from North Avenue to Roosevelt Road in the Village of Oak Park for $2,027,777 by J. A. Johnson Paving Company of Arlington Heights, the lowest of four bidders.
17. Illinois Route 171 will receive traffic signal modernization and channelization at Forest Avenue/Ridgewood Drive in Riverside for $1,215,962 by Alliance Contractors Inc. of Woodstock, the lower of two bidders.
18. Various routes in southern Cook County will receive intermittent resurfacing for $684,543 by Iroquois Paving Corporation of Watseka, the lowest of five bidders.
19. Various state-maintained southern expressway routes in Cook County will receive intermittent resurfacing for $587,996 by Iroquois Paving Corporation of Watseka, the lowest of four bidders.
20. I-94 will receive crack and joint routing and sealing from north of Lawrence Avenue to Lake Cook Road in Chicago for $693,940 by Freehill Asphalt Inc. of Watseka, the lower of two bidders.
21. Enterprise Drive and Constitution Drive will receive resurfacing, intermittent replacement of defective curb and gutter, driveways, sidewalks, patching, pavement striping and parkway restoration between Wolf Road and Cermak Road in the Village of Westchester for $588,162 by James D. Fiala Paving Co. Inc. of Bolingbrook, the lowest of seven bidders.
22. Intersection improvement will be done on Illinois Route 171 at 104th Avenue/Willow Springs Road in Willow Springs for $3,375,592 by Copenhaver Construction Inc. of Gilberts, the lowest of three bidders.
23. Various locations in north Cook County will receive LED installation and traffic signal modernization for $1,092,946 by H&H Electric Co. of Franklin Park, the lowest of four bidders.
24. State-maintained central expressway routes will receive intermittent resurfacing for $763,680 by MAT Construction Leasing Inc. of Chicago, the lower of two bidders.
25. A bridge carrying Illinois Route 59 over the Metra Railroad in Bartlett will receive repairs and deck overlay for $358,141 by Martam Construction Inc. of Elgin, the lowest of four bidders.
26. Bridge removal and replacement, pavement and sidewalk removal, pavement reconstruction, sidewalk and driveway construction, drainage structures, storm sewers, water main and landscaping will be done on West Jeffery Avenue over Buffalo Creek for $1,093,324 by Rausch Construction Company Inc. of Broadview, the lowest of seven bidders.

“Governor Quinn continues to fight for working men and women who have built Illinois’ infrastructure through their hard work, dedication, and calloused hands,” Tom Villanova, President of Chicago & Cook County Building & Construction Trades Council, said. “Under Illinois Jobs Now!, thousands of Chicagoans have been put to work to improve Illinois’s infrastructure for coming generations.”

Today’s announcement follows last week’s news that Illinois’ unemployment rate declined in July to 6.8 percent from June’s 7.1 percent. During July, 11,200 new private sector jobs were added, including 3,900 manufacturing jobs. The state’s unemployment rate has fallen steadily since July 2013, when it stood at 9.2 percent.

Construction payrolls are up by 8,500 jobs since the beginning of the year, nearly four times as strong as the gain posted for this same period in 2013. Specialty trade contractors’ payrolls posted healthy gains for the third straight month, fueled in large part by Governor Quinn’s Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction program.