The Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for northeastern Illinois includes projects in all of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties, and a portion of Grundy County.
The TIP tracks the use of local, state, and federal transportation funds, facilitating a discussion about regional transportation needs. The program helps transportation professionals, service implementers, and planning organizations establish a short-term transportation program to reflect the long-range transportation goals identified in the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). For engineering consultants, real estate professionals, environmental groups, advocacy organizations, and residents in general, the TIP provides key information on transportation development across the region.
Scroll down this page to read more about the program, or browse an up-to-date repository of TIP-related materials. You may also download the FY 2007-2012 Transportation Improvement Program brochure (1.5MB PDF). It is a six-year agenda of surface transportation projects, providing specific descriptions of each project alongside funding and operation details. Federal rules govern the development, review, and implementation of the TIP, requiring that it include all projects that anticipate federal funding along with any other “regionally significant” projects that will not receive federal funding. “Regionally significant” programs are usually county-based, and funded by State of Illinois funds or local taxes.
The TIP helps members of the CMAP Board and MPO Policy Committee, other transportation implementers, and planning organizations in establishing a transportation program that reflects the goals of the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), the region's long range transportation plan. The projects in the TIP are based the ongoing evaluation of the regional transportation system by the agencies responsible for it, including the Illinois Department of Transportation, the City of Chicago, and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. In fact, the majority of TIP projects are some form of system maintenance.
TIP projects are essential in creating and maintaining a prioritized, fiscally constrained capital improvement program for the northeastern Illinois region. They can be anything from storm sewer repairs in Metra parking lots to CTA extensions, but they usually fall under one or more of the following categories:
- Arterial Collector (Expressway and Highway)
- Bicycle and Pedestrian
- Bridge
- Bus
- Freight
- Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)
- Rail
- Tollway