The Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways has announced Invest in Cook, a competitive transportation grant program to help fund improvements on local transportation facilities. The County is seeking applications for transportation-related projects throughout Cook County as part of the initiative to build and maintain a comprehensive regional transportation network.
The $8.5 million program will help cover the cost of planning, engineering, right-of-way acquisition and construction associated with transportation improvements sponsored by local governments and private partners. This new program seeks projects that broaden the County's traditional focus on highways to include pedestrian, bicycle, transit and freight-related improvements.
Invest in Cook is an initiative of Connecting Cook County, the County's first long range transportation plan in 75 years. Connecting Cook County lays the groundwork for how the County invests in transportation to attract and retain businesses, people, capital and talent.
"Connecting Cook County calls on Cook County to be a leader in setting and implementing regional transportation policies," Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. "Different levels and units of government need to collaborate to deliver regionally significant improvements that yield long-term results."
The Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways is seeking applications from local governments and transit agencies, among others. Private for-profit or non-profit organizations can submit project proposals, but must have a public sponsor.
Invest in Cook seeks projects consistent with the priorities detailed in Connecting Cook County:
- Prioritize transit and other transportation alternatives
- Support the region's role as North America's freight capital
- Promote equal access to opportunities
- Maintain and modernize what already exists
- Increase investments in transportation
The deadline to apply is 5:00 PM CST on March 17, 2017. Cook County transportation staff will evaluate and score the proposals to determine which projects will be chosen this year. Award letters will be sent out in the summer of 2017, and a corresponding list of grantees will be published on the project webpage.
Program information is available at https://www.cookcountyil.gov/investincook
For additional information, please contact Tomohiko Music at (312) 603-3808 or InvestInCook.CC@cookcountyil.gov.