General Information
The Unified Work Program (UWP) lists the planning projects the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) and other agencies undertake each year to enhance transportation in northeastern Illinois and to fulfill federal planning regulations. The UWP is designed to run in conjunction with the State of Illinois fiscal year timeline of July 1-June 30. The final UWP document includes the transportation planning activities to be carried out in the region, detailing each project’s description, products, costs and source of funding.
The UWP Committee develops a program for recommendation to the MPO Policy Committee. The eight voting members of the UWP committee are 1) the City of Chicago, 2) CTA, 3) Metra, 4) Pace, 5) CMAP, 6) RTA, 7) the Regional Council of Mayors, and 8) one representative from the six collar counties. IDOT chairs the committee and votes in instances of a tie. Non-voting members include IEPA, FHWA and FTA. Member agencies of the UWP Committee traditionally receive UWP funding, but any other MPO Policy Committee agencies can submit proposals or sponsor submissions from other entities.
The UWP development process begins each fall. The UWP Committee requests policy direction on regional planning priorities for the upcoming program from the CMAP Board and MPO Policy Committee. Priorities are further guided by the factors included in the Scope of the Metropolitan Planning Process, from Sec. 450.306 of the federal regulations found in 23 CFR Parts 450 and 500 and 49 CFR Part 613. The policy direction is described in a document summarizing the expected components to a Core and Discretionary program. Read the FY 2009 Planning Priorites here.
Eligible agencies develop project proposals and submit them to the UWP Committee for review. Projects required to meet federal regulations are selected first in the Core Program in early February. A second tier of projects focusing on select emphasis areas are submitted for review in late February, with review and selection taking place in March and April. The UWP Committee prepares a draft program consisting of all the funded UWP projects and submits it to the Transportation Committee for consideration in April. The draft program is then submitted to the funding agencies and released for public comment. Following their review, the draft program is sent to the MPO Policy Committee for consideration of endorsement at their June meeting.
The sources of federal planning funds are the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration. The FY09 UWP will program more than $15 million in federal funding, along with the required 20 percent of local matching funds, resulting in nearly $19 million dedicated to transportation planning in the northeastern Illinois region during this program year.
FY 2010 Unified Work Program
The FY 2010 Unified Work Program was approved by the MPO Policy Committee and CMAP Board in June 2008. It programs an expenditure of $19,132,683 in metropolitan planning funds from the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Highway Adminstration, state and local sources. Please see the full document here:
FY 2010 UWP Document
FY 2009 Unified Work Program
The FY 2009 Unified Work Program was approved by the MPO Policy Committee and CMAP Board in June 2008. It programs an expenditure of $19,132,683 in metropolitan planning funds from the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Highway Adminstration, state and local sources. Please see the full document here:
Unified Work Program Documents from Past Years
Quarterly Reports