Tollway committee backs fiber expansion, recommends five engineering contracts for board approval

The Engineering, Planning and Development Oversight Committee of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority recommended that five engineering items, including a fiber construction contract along I‑355 between I‑55 and Army Trail Road, be placed on the full board agenda for approval.

Committee members heard a presentation from Chief of Planning Ken Robles on the Tollway’s fiber program, which Robles said supports toll operations and can generate revenue when excess capacity is leased. Robles told the committee, “We own the fiber.”

The presentation said the Tollway’s network includes about 329 centerline miles, roughly 2,000 duct miles and about 48,000 fiber miles. Robles reported the Tollway brought in $31,900,000 in combined lease revenue over the past five years and had duct agreements with 33 lessees in 2025. He said roughly 25% of the duct network and 50% of fiber capacity remain available, and that some segments are near full capacity.

Why it matters: the Tollway is marketing spare fiber capacity as an alternative revenue source while also ensuring its communications and intelligent-transportation systems have required redundancy and capacity. The committee’s approval moves contract awards and a supplemental design agreement one step closer to board action.

Most important details

- The committee voted to consolidate and place engineering items 1–5 on the February board meeting agenda with the committee’s recommendation; the motion passed. The committee’s action sends recommended contract awards and a design-supplement to the full board for final approval.

- Item 2 (fiber construction, I‑355 between I‑55 and Army Trail Road): award recommended to Mead Incorporated, low bidder at $10,815,279.68. The work includes new conduits, junction boxes, fiber optic cables, communication handholds, maintenance of traffic and associated items; the I‑355 segment was described as nearly exhausted and the contract intended to expand capacity and improve redundancy.

- Item 1 (plaza improvements at Plaza 15 on the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway and Plaza 75 on the Veterans Memorial Tollway I‑355): award recommended to K5 Construction Corporation, low bidder at $15,890,124.65; work includes ramp, pavement and shoulder replacement, toll plaza monotubes, lighting, pavement marking, toll plaza electrical work and maintenance of traffic.

- Item 3 (annual pavement marking contract at various Tollway locations): award recommended to RoadSafe Traffic Systems Inc., low bidder at $6,263,497.65.

- Item 4 (professional engineering services for construction management at the central warehouse and sign shop in Downers Grove): award recommended to TransLand Engineering Group LLC at $2,128,000.00.

- Item 5 (supplement under contract I174678): a supplement not to exceed $2,100,000.00 to Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company Inc. for additional design services on the northern leg of I‑490 near O’Hare; the work involves coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, Chicago Department of Aviation, Union Pacific Railroad, Cook County and local utilities and will be coordinated with Elk Grove Village via an intergovernmental agreement to be presented later.

What committee members asked and discussed

Members questioned lease terms and revenue forecasting. Robles said lease terms are typically 10 years with interest in extending to 20 years, and that lessees pay annual maintenance fees; a network management contract provides marketing and market data. He said the Tollway plans to advertise a new network maintenance and management contract and bring that contract to the board for approval.

Committee members also discussed regional data‑center growth, redundancy needs and coordination with other agencies. Director Wright and other members noted demand from data centers and the need to plan for electrical and cooling constraints alongside fiber capacity. The chief engineering officer, Menard, noted bids on the presented construction contracts came in below estimates and identified the recommended low bidders and committed DBE (disadvantaged business enterprise) and veteran participation goals where stated.

Formal actions

The committee approved placing engineering items 1–5 on the full board agenda with the committee’s recommendation. Earlier in the meeting the committee approved the January 28, 2025 meeting minutes. Both motions were moved and seconded and were recorded as passed by voice vote; individual vote tallies and mover/second names were not specified in the committee transcript.

Context and next steps

Robles said the Tollway is dividing its network into 11 segments and is evaluating expansions and redundancy improvements in segments that are close to capacity. The committee’s placement vote sends contract awards and the Burns & McDonnell supplemental agreement to the full board for final approval at the February meeting. The Tollway will also advertise a new fiber network maintenance/management contract that it intends to bring to the board for approval in a future meeting.

Ending

The committee had no legal items for immediate consideration and adjourned after approving the engineering items for placement on the board agenda.