CHICAGO – As Chicago prepares for another busy construction season in 2023, the City’s Project Coordination Office (PCO) announced it saved the city $23.7 million last year by coordinating public way construction projects. Managed by the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), the PCO coordinates right-of-way activities of the City’s infrastructure departments with the utilities of ComEd, Peoples Gas, cable television, and telephone companies to eliminate duplicative work, save resources, and reduce the amount of time Chicago’s streets are obstructed due to construction.

The PCO, under the supervision of CDOT’s Office of Underground Coordination, reviews proposed infrastructure projects to prevent conflicts and increase cooperation. For example, if two utility owners plan to work on the same block six months apart, the PCO may ask them to plan their work sequentially and share the cost of restoring the street. This coordination saves the City money in restoration costs, ensures the work will not occur when special events are scheduled on the block, and encourages excavators to complete work before the street is paved.

In 2022 this coordination included street and sidewalk restoration work performed by private utilities, including 1,535 ADA sidewalk ramps, approximately 182,349 sq. ft. or 6.9 miles of sidewalk, and approximately 10 miles of street resurfacing. Since it was created in 2012, CDOT PCO’s efforts have saved the City $251 million by reducing the amount of materials wasted due to duplication.

“Our Project Coordination Office has improved collaboration with other agencies and service providers within the public right of way, helping save taxpayers millions of dollars while minimizing disruption for residents and businesses,” said CDOT Commissioner Gia Biagi. “With a busy construction season around the corner, we look forward to continuing to find ways to improve and streamline the process of delivering infrastructure improvements across Chicago.”

This year will mark the third year of Mayor Lightfoot’s five-year, multi-billion-dollar Chicago Works capital plan, bringing much-needed improvements to public infrastructure across all of Chicago’s 77 communities. The 2023-2024 Chicago Works plan includes $251.7 million for residential and arterial street resurfacing based on the Pavement Condition Index and ADA Ramp needs; $64 million for sidewalks and pedestrian right-of-way programs; $58 million for Complete Streets improvements, such as new bike lanes, improvements to priority bus routes, and Vision Zero pedestrian safety projects; and $166 million for streetscape projects. 

Chicago residents can track upcoming road construction work and special event permits in their neighborhoods by using ChiStreetWork – https://chistreetwork.chicago.gov – the City’s web-based tool that leverages the Google Maps interface to search for infrastructure projects in the City. ChiStreetWork was launched in 2019 and allows the public to search for CDOT permits for work in the right-of-way and special events by Ward, neighborhood, intersection, or street address. Once the search terms are entered, the map populates one month past, current, and up to one year of future construction projects and infrastructure upgrades, including street re-paving as well as water, sewer, gas, and electrical projects. Special event permits are also listed. A user can click on an active project or event to pull up the CDOT permit, which includes details such as company name, street or lane closure impacts, work hours, and more.