D Construction is a heavy civil contractor based in Coal City, Illinois, and most people searching that name want three things: what it builds, where it works, and whether the numbers floating around online are real. Here is the verified picture, plus a short section on the checks that actually matter before you hand any contractor a signed contract.
Quick Facts About D Construction
The legal name is D. Construction, Inc. The company describes itself as Will and Grundy County's leading heavy civil contractor focused on cost, quality and safety, and Ken Sandeno founded it in 1982 to serve those two counties.
Listings put its headquarters at 1488 S Broadway St, Coal City, Illinois, 60416.
Revenue and headcount are where searchers get misled. Data vendors publish modeled estimates, not company-confirmed figures, and those estimates disagree with each other by an order of magnitude. Treat them as noise and verify directly.
| Detail | What public sources show | How to confirm it yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters |
1488 S Broadway St, Coal City, IL 60416
| Call the office listed on the company site |
|---|
| Founded |
1982, by Ken Sandeno
| Illinois Secretary of State business search | ||
|---|---|---|
| Employees and revenue | Vendor estimates vary widely and are modeled | Ask for a bonding capacity letter from the surety |
| Scope |
Underground origins, now commercial buildings, water and wastewater plants, highway work, intermodal, rail, plant maintenance, petrochemical and barge facilities
| Ask for three references in your project type | ||
|---|---|---|
| License status | Contractor licenses are issued and renewed locally | Check the issuing municipality or county board |
That last row matters more than any revenue figure. A bonding letter and a current license tell you what a directory profile never will.
Services D Construction Self-Performs
The work breaks into three lines: heavy civil and underground utilities, public transportation projects, and asphalt paving supported by its own plants.
Heavy Civil and Underground Utilities
The firm started as an underground contractor and expanded into commercial buildings, water and wastewater plants, highway construction, nuclear security construction, heavy civil work for intermodal facilities, railway, plant maintenance, petrochemical plants and barge facilities.
For a general contractor reviewing a bid, the useful question is which of those trades are self-performed versus brokered out. Self-perform depth usually shows up as earthwork, site development, erosion and sediment control, deep foundation work and cast-in-place concrete.
Roads, Bridges, Airports, Rail and Waterways
Public work is the visible half of the business. Listed project categories include bridge, civil and site development, K-12 education, golf course, marine, park and playground, road and highway, sewage and water treatment plants, airport runway, parking lots and utilities.
An industry association post also flagged an IDOT award to the company for sidewalk replacement, ADA ramps, pedestrian traffic signals, lighting and landscaping in Cook County.
One award proves past scope with that agency. It does not prove current crew availability, which is what you actually need to know in a bid cycle.
Asphalt Paving and Material Sales
The company operates asphalt plants and sells hot-mix asphalt in addition to placing it.
"IDOT approved mix design" is not marketing language. The Illinois Department of Transportation develops statewide hot mix asphalt policies and specifications, inspects and approves HMA plants, and maintains approved product lists. You can read the requirements on the IDOT hot mix asphalt approvals page.
Practical takeaway for a buyer: ask for the job mix formula number and the plant approval, then ask who does the acceptance testing on gradation, binder content and density during production.
Markets and Service Area
Public listings put its market area across Chicago, Northwest Indiana and St. Louis, Missouri.
For scale context, highway construction alone ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about $150 billion nationally in mid-2026, according to the U.S. Census Bureau value of construction put in place data . See the Census construction spending series for current figures. A regional civil contractor competes for a small slice of that, which is why most of these firms are highly specialized by geography.
Safety and Work Zone Practices
The company states that its safety commitment covers everyone involved in a project, applying lessons learned company-wide, with a workforce built through long-standing union relationships.
That is a policy statement, not a metric. On live roadway jobs, the enforceable part is the traffic control setup: advance warning, taper and buffer, flagger stations, positive barrier where speeds warrant it, and high-visibility apparel. OSHA notes that highway, road, bridge, tunnel and utility workers face hazards from inside and outside the work zone, with falls, electrical, struck-by and caught-between as the common ones. Review OSHA's highway work zone guidance before you accept any subcontractor's traffic control plan.
If a bidder cites an EMR or incident rate, ask for the documentation. Numbers without a source are just copy.
Careers at D Construction
Civil contractors staff up ahead of each construction season, and this one hires through its own site rather than third-party boards. Union relationships shape dispatch and pay scales for operators, laborers and drivers in the Coal City area, so a local hall is often the faster route in than a resume upload.
Not the D Construction You Were Looking For?
Dozens of contractors nationwide use a single-letter or initials name, so "d construction" pulls in firms in Brooklyn, Dallas, Utah and beyond. If you landed here looking for residential or commercial work in New Jersey instead, that is a different market entirely.
Lion I Construction is a New Jersey contractor serving homeowners and property owners across Somerset, Morris, Hunterdon and Essex counties, including Bridgewater, Short Hills and Chester.
How to Vet Any Construction Company Before You Sign
We use this list on our own projects, and it works whether the bidder is a civil contractor in Illinois or a remodeler down the street. On one commercial fitup last year, two bidders quoted within 3 percent of each other, and the self-perform question is what separated them: one framed and finished in house, the other planned to broker both.
- Confirm the legal entity. Match the name on the proposal to the name on the license and the certificate of insurance.
- Ask what is self-performed. Brokered trades add a markup layer and a schedule risk you cannot control.
- Get the insurance certificate directly from the agent. Not a PDF forwarded by the contractor.
- Request three references in your exact project type. A bridge resume says nothing about a basement.
- Read the change order clause before the price. Unit rates and markup percentages belong in the contract.
- Verify bonding capacity on any public or large private job.
Once you know the scope you need, match it to the right specialty. For buildings, that is a general contractor handling commercial construction, tenant fitups or structural framing. For living space, it is home remodeling or a basement contractor for basement waterproofing and basement finishing. For exteriors and site work, look at a masonry contractor for hardscaping and masonry repair, or home improvement for siding installation and window replacement.
If your project involves design as well as construction, our guide to hiring a design-build contractor covers how that delivery method changes the bid comparison.
Planning work in New Jersey and want a scoped number instead of a ballpark? Get a free estimate and we will walk the site with you.
FAQ
Where is D Construction located?
Its headquarters is 1488 S Broadway St, Coal City, Illinois 60416 , in Grundy County. Listed markets include Chicago, Northwest Indiana and St. Louis, Missouri.
What year was D Construction started?
Ken Sandeno founded the company in 1982
as an underground contractor, and the scope later expanded into commercial buildings, water and wastewater plants, highway work, rail, intermodal and petrochemical facilities.
How many employees does D Construction have?
There is no company-confirmed figure available publicly. Data vendors publish modeled estimates that range from a few dozen to several hundred, which is too wide to be useful. If headcount matters to your decision, ask for a bonding capacity letter and current crew availability in writing.
Is D Construction a union contractor?
The company credits its workforce to long-standing relationships with its unions , which is typical for heavy civil and IDOT highway work in northern Illinois.
Does D Construction sell asphalt as well as pave?
Yes. It operates its own asphalt plants and sells hot-mix asphalt in addition to placing it. IDOT inspects and approves HMA plants that supply state work , so ask for the plant approval and the job mix formula when you request tonnage.
Is D Construction the same company as D&D Construction or Big-D?
No. Those are separate businesses in different states with no relationship to the Coal City, Illinois company. Always match the legal entity name on the license and the insurance certificate before you assume two similar names are the same firm.
Does D Construction work in New Jersey?
No. Its listed market area is Illinois, Northwest Indiana and the St. Louis region. For residential and commercial construction in New Jersey, contact our team instead.
How do I check whether a contractor's license is current?
Search the license number on the issuing authority's site, which is usually a state licensing board, county, or municipality, and confirm the name on the license matches the name on your contract. Then request the insurance certificate directly from the contractor's agent.
Reviewed by the project management team at Lion I Construction, a licensed New Jersey general contractor handling residential and commercial builds from framing through finish. Questions about scope, permits or bids? Reach us through our contact page.
