The City received $8,000,000 in federal grant funds in 2015. Any federal construction grant funds are required to adhere to strict IDOT guidelines. A construction project follows three phases with each phase requiring IDOT approval prior to the start of the phase. For the Clavey Road Project, the phases are Phase I- Preliminary Engineering; Phase II- Final Design Engineering; and Phase III- Construction. Please see the below timeline for each phase:
Phase I was initiated in August 2015 and completed in November of 2018.  It is not an uncommon practice for Phase I Preliminary Engineering approval to take more than two years, especially for a project of this size and scope. IDOT provided approval for the Phase I Preliminary Engineering in November 2018. A copy of the updated Phase I Project Development Report can be viewed here. The City engaged in engineering consulting services to begin paperwork submission to IDOT for Phase II Final Engineering. A bidding schedule will not be available until Phase II Engineering begins. Plans and specifications will be available after the City initiates Phase II Final Engineering. For example, project specific specifications are part of the scope of the contract for Phase II Final Engineering.  Since IDOT has not granted approval to start Phase II Final Engineering, the City does not have specifications. The City will post the Phase II Final Engineering and specifications upon availability and notify residents.
Phase II Final Engineering has been approved by IDOT. To adhere to IDOT guidelines, the City is required to implement a Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) process to select a firm for Phase II Engineering. The QBS was initiated in November of 2018 immediately after approval of Phase I Preliminary Engineering and completed January 2019. The QBS process included an advertisement in a local newspaper, submittal of various documents indicative of a firm’s qualifications, review of these documents and face-to-face interviews with firms. Through this process, Ciorba Group, Inc. was selected to perform Phase II Final Engineering work. The required engineering and funding agreements were sent to IDOT in January of 2019 for IDOT’s review and approval.  IDOT completed its preliminary review of the agreements with comments in June of 2019. The City re-submitted the approved agreements to IDOT in July 2019 and final approval from IDOT was received in December to begin the start of Phase II Final Engineering. The City anticipates completion of Phase II Final Engineering in 2020.