Nearly $885 million awarded for local transportation projects across northeastern Illinois

October 15, 2026

Nearly $885 million awarded for local transportation projects across northeastern Illinois

The Surface Transportation Program (STP) is a federal-aid highway funding program that provides flexible resources for states and localities to use for a wide range of transportation projects. Funds are available for road and bridge construction, repair, and rehabilitation, as well as safety improvements, traffic management systems, and transportation planning projects.

Within CMAP’s metropolitan planning organization boundaries in northeastern Illinois, each local Council of Mayors and the City of Chicago administer STP Local funds. Communities that wish to participate in STP Local funding do so through the local call for projects facilitated by their designated subregional council. Projects are evaluated, scored, and awarded funding according to methodology and deadlines set by each council. Funds are programmed on a biannual basis, with some projects awaiting funds on a contingency list.

The local Councils of Mayors and the Chicago Department of Transportation most recently conducted calls for federal fiscal year 2027–31 STP Local projects from October 2025 through December 2025. Nearly $885 million was allocated amongst 296 projects from 137 project sponsors across the 7 counties in the region. Some highlights include:

98.5% of the funding is programmed for construction and construction engineering, with the majority of projects and funding primarily focused on roadway maintenance and modernization.
Nearly all of these projects include improvements to bicycle, pedestrian, and ADA infrastructure, with an additional 27 bicycle and pedestrian specific projects.
There are 7 bridge repair, rehab, or replacement projects that account for 22.1% of programmed funding.

CMAP prepared snapshot summaries* for projects and investments by council. Click on the respective council name below to learn more:

The next call for STP Local projects is expected in October 2027. Sign up for the transportation newsletter to learn when it opens.

* The South Council of Mayors’ program was not available for inclusion in the TIP. The full FFY 2027-2031 South Council STP-L program will be brought forward for approval following adoption of the FFY 2027-2032 TIP in fall 2027.