Aug. 20--Unanticipated extra work and contract changes because of delays on the massive Jane Addams reconstruction project will cost the Illinois Tollway more than $19.5 million, officials said Wednesday.
The additional costs represent only a small percentage of the anticipated $840 million being spent on the Addams in 2015 alone and do not threaten to bust the project's budget, but paying them will help ensure the work stays on schedule, Illinois State Toll Highway Authority board members were told.
The Addams rebuilding is the most extensive highway project underway in the Chicago area, involving hundreds of workers and a half-dozen of the biggest contractors, including the Walsh, Plote and Lorig construction companies.
"We're spending $6 million to $8 million a day out there," Tollway Chief Engineer Paul Kovacs said. "It's a huge amount of money, but we're operating within the $2.5 billion I-90 rebuilding and widening project budget."
The Tollway is in the midst of reconstructing the 25-mile stretch of the Addams from the Elgin Toll Plaza to the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) and widening it from six to eight lanes. The work is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2016.
The rebuilding of the 37-mile stretch from Elgin west to Rockford and widening from four to six lanes were completed last year.
The Tollway board awarded about $190 million worth of Addams construction and engineering contracts in February. On Wednesday, the board's Finance Committee approved 13 extra work and change orders to those contracts.
The extra labor and additional materials called for in the change orders are needed to offset initial delays that caused a "ripple effect" on the Addams work, Kovacs said.
Those delays were primarily due to setbacks in acquiring permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and utility companies like Nicor Gas, relocating utility lines at construction sites and the weather, Kovacs said.
Another difficulty came during relocation of a 16.5-mile water pipeline owned by the Northwest Suburban Municipal Joint Action Water Agency. The pipeline is adjacent to the tollway. The Tollway is footing the upfront cost, estimated at $73 million, but is being repaid by the water agency.
The extra work orders will put construction crews on duty for longer hours and on weekends to ensure the project stays on schedule, Kovacs said.
The change orders generally reflected the need for additional materials, such as extra asphalt for temporary ramps, Kovacs said.
"We place a high priority on getting the work done as quickly as we can," Kovacs said. "This is my best plan for keeping our promise for getting the work done by the end of 2016."
If the project were to extend beyond next year, costs would escalate even higher, motorists would be inconvenienced longer and toll revenue would be lost, he said.
To ensure that extra work and change orders are justified, the Tollway has a special committee to review them. Contract changes totaling more than $200,000, such as those requested Wednesday, must be approved by the Tollway board.
Newly named Tollway Executive Director Greg Bedalov, meanwhile, reported that the agency is experiencing its best summer travel season on record, recording the 10 busiest days in Tollway history and averaging nearly 2.8 million weekday toll transactions.
One day, July 24, was the agency's busiest-ever, with 2.9 million toll transactions, Bedalov said.
The growth in traffic, Bedalov said, was likely because of the region's continuing economic expansion, higher employment, lower fuel prices and improvements that have been made to the Tollway system in the past decade.
rwronski@tribpub.com
