In the Community

Building alongside Habitat for Humanity: ITRCC partnered with the local Habitat in Northwest Indiana to support and participate in a two-day “Women Build” program building homes in Lake Station and Gary, Indiana. Employees used their volunteer days, and ITRCC made a substantial financial contribution to assist with material costs.

Collecting for the communities we connect: To help support the individuals, families, and communities most in need in the region, ITRCC hosts multiple donation drives each year. As a company, ITRCC seeks to encourage and inspire our employees to make a difference across the communities we connect. In 2022, our initiatives included a canned food drive, supplies for school children, and aid to a local no-kill animal shelter.

Growing diverse vendor businesses: By investing in and supporting the businesses that work within and reflect our surrounding communities, we’re able to strengthen the impact of our own business and establish a wider expectation of inclusivity. ITRCC partners on an annual Diverse Business Trade Show, designed to promote new connections, local business growth, and opportunities for project bid notifications.

Helping ospreys atop a toll plaza: When two ITRCC employees identified ospreys — a protected species only recently reclassified from an endangered species to a species of concern — building a massive nest on top of the radio tower at a toll plaza, they wanted to ensure the animals remained safe and caused no interference with communications or emergency precautions. These amateur bird watchers relayed regular updates on the birds’ behavior and their nesting status to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

Creating a corridor of connectivity: After designing and installing conduit and fiber optic cable along all 157 miles of the Toll Road, ITRCC was equipped not only to enable innovative technologies to enhance our systems, but also to support more than 7,000 students in the Portage Township School District while learning virtually because of the pandemic. Our partner eX² Technology is managing the digital infrastructure and marketing the conduit to possible clients and enable connectivity throughout the region.

Supporting local schools during Covid-19: More than 47% of students in Indiana receive their meals for free or at a reduced price through the federally-assisted National School Lunch Program. Many schools also distribute weekend meals for students in need. But as schools closed their doors and moved to online learning during the pandemic, ITRCC established the Indiana Toll Road – School Food Relief Fund, donating more than $100,000 to help local schools offset the costs related to their school-backpack food initiatives. In total, 39 public school districts as well as private and charter schools received funds — up to $14,000 to cover the cost of meal programs.

Building community connections: More than 2 million people call the Toll Road corridor home. As ITRCC connects these diverse and constantly changing communities, we collaborated with Minnis Consulting, a supplier diversity consultancy, to further strengthen our relationships with Northern Indiana businesses owned by women, minorities, and veterans. By strengthening these relationships and sharing greater insight with them into our operations, we’re able to reaffirm a culture of inclusion.

Delivering growth for Indiana businesses: When we hosted ITRCC’s Vendor Forum at our Administration Building in Elkhart, we brought together nearly 50 regional vendors and contractors from a range of industries. Since our procurement team manages partnerships and new opportunities, all of our guests were able to schedule one-on-one meetings with the procurement staff to explore how we might work together in the future.