$27 million fallout? Cost of tollway bid misstep piles up

The costs of awarding a major construction contract to the wrong company are adding up for the Illinois tollway.

The agency settled a lawsuit with Judlau Construction in 2024, paying about $10 million in damages after abruptly canceling its contract to reconfigure the southbound side of the I-88/I-290 interchange.

Then in April, the board approved a $16.5 million change order for replacement contractor, Walsh Construction Co., to expedite the delayed project.

The nearly $27 million in extra spending comes after staff missed a key fact about Judlau, the lowest bidder on the project at $323.9 million.

The construction giant is headquartered in New York and a 2023 state law requires agencies like the tollway to apply a 4% preference, or reduction, for Illinois bidders.

That made Chicago-based Walsh Construction’s $327 million bid the lowest offer.

The tollway ended Judlau’s contract in May 2024 and work on the interchange stalled. Walsh was hired in July but critical months were lost. Meanwhile, Judlau sued, and received a nearly $25 million settlement, with approximately $15 million in compensation for work performed and $10 million related to damages.

The $16.5 million change order includes overtime and “additional labor, materials and equipment” to meet the original July 23, 2027, deadline for substantial completion.

“The change order to the contract allows the tollway to accelerate this work so we can meet our construction schedules for this year and minimize the impacts to our customers as we continue building the $700 million I-290/I-88 interchange with I-294, which will provide congestion relief for the 300,000 vehicles,” that traverse it daily, tollway spokesman Dan Rozek said.

“Through the change order, we are also resequencing work to improve traffic flow this year and ease congestion in this area ahead of the overall completion of this project.”

The contract is one piece of a complicated project that includes replacing a congested loop ramp with a fly-under ramp and building collector-distributor roads to move traffic faster.

Asked about preventing future mishaps, Rozek said the tollway has coordinated with the state’s Chief Procurement Office to revise its procurement policies to inform builders about the 4% rule and now requires bidders to provide proof they are from Illinois.

Former tollway director Bill Morris commented, “this is simply an irresponsible waste of public funds. How could the tollway, with its large administrative and legal staff, make such an initial error and then compound the error by firing the initial contractor?” asked Morris, a former Democratic state senator from Grayslake.

“After the initial error, common sense would indicate the contractor was going to file a suit. You would think the board would have secured an opinion not only from the legal staff, but from an outside firm that could give the board an honest opinion as to the potential of winning a suit if they fired the original awarded contractor for no cause except a tollway screwup.

“This is shameful and now to toss millions on top of the expected cost simply compounds the error.”

Republican State Rep. Brad Stephens said, “when I was on the tollway board one thing that did impress me was the procurement and bidding process. I believed staff to be thorough and methodical in the process.”

“With this item I would hope that the $10 million was covered by insurance, however the additional $16-plus million seems as a necessary unintended consequence,” added Stephens, also Rosemont’s mayor. “I’m quite sure staff and the board share some embarrassment and I am confident that they have put systems in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

One more thing

As Metra, Pace and the CTA stare down a $770 million shortfall in 2026, the Regional Transportation Authority is hoping an ad blitz will whip up public support to rescue transit.

The agency launched a Save Transit Now campaign with ads on radio, television and social media, plus billboards. It encourages people to write letters to Illinois lawmakers, who are currently pondering a fix.

The effort isn’t cheap and will cost up to $750,000 but it’s worth it, RTA leaders said, adding Thursday that 5,200 letters already have been sent.

“Transit is at a crossroads — and we can’t afford not to raise awareness at this moment,” Executive Director Leanne Redden said.

Gridlock alert

Sorry, Wheaton drivers. Resurfacing on Butterfield Road is ramping up between Route 59 and Naperville. Expect intermittent daytime lane closures until November.