Chicago Skyway Names Chad Elliott as Chief Operating Officer

Incoming leader to enhance Skyway’s operations into the future

CHICAGO, IL – Skyway Concession Company LLC (SCC), operator of the Chicago Skyway, announced the appointment of Chad Elliott as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO). Elliott joins the Chicago Skyway as an international road operations specialist with over two decades of experience in project development, delivery, operations, and asset renewal on P3 and non-P3 projects.

“Chad is going to immediately bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our team and we are thrilled to have him,” said Chicago Skyway’s Chief Executive Officer Kristi Lafleur. “His personable and collaborative leadership style will be an asset to our Chicago Skyway family. We are aligned on advancing our mission of providing motorists with the safest, fastest, and most reliable route to and through Chicago.”

Through his role as COO, Elliott will lead the enhancement of the company’s operations while collaborating to manage employee activity across teams for success. He will report to CEO Kristi Lafleur and joins a leadership team dedicated to maintaining the Chicago Skyway in optimal condition.

Prior to joining the Chicago Skyway, Elliott served at Transurban where he led asset operations for Express Lanes in Northern Virginia, and most recently he led operations pre-development for the Maryland I-495 & I-270 Express Lanes P3. Before his time with Transurban, Elliott served for 17 years in the operations and maintenance (O&M) services industry, where he most recently led a national portfolio of O&M services projects for Ferrovial Services North America.

“The Chicago Skyway is an iconic asset with a rich history involving people across the entire region, and I want to ensure that both the community and our customers continue to see it as a vital link that adds value to their daily lives,” Elliott said. “I look forward to enhancing and managing our operations into the future.”

Chad Elliott is a seasoned international road operations specialist with over two decades of experience in Australia and the United States, and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Adelaide, South Australia.

About the Chicago Skyway: 

Built by the City of Chicago in 1958, the Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge is a 7.8-mile-long toll road that connects the Indiana Toll Road to the Dan Ryan Expressway on Chicago’s South Side.  The main feature of the Skyway is a 1⁄2-mile-long steel truss bridge, known as the “High Bridge.”  The bridge itself spans the Calumet River and Calumet Harbor, a major harbor for industrial ships – its main span extends 650 feet long and provides for 125 feet of vertical clearance.

The City of Chicago maintained and operated the Chicago Skyway until January 2005 when Skyway Concession Company assumed those responsibilities pursuant to a 99-year lease. The lease agreement between Skyway and the City of Chicago was the first privatization of an existing toll road in the United States.