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.
Unified Work Program FY09
FY 2009 UWP comment period
On April 25, 2008 the CMAP Transportation Committee approved the Unified Work Program (UWP) for public comment. The proposed program is available here and is open for public comment until May 19. The UWP lists the planning projects that CMAP and other agencies undertake each year to enhance transportation in northeastern Illinois and to fulfill federal planning regulations. The document includes each project’s description, products, costs and source of funding. Please direct comments to Matt Maloney (mmaloney@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8615).
FY 2009 UWP Development Process
The UWP Committee has developed a development process and schedule for FY 2009. Please see the schedule here.
Unified Work Program FY08
The CMAP Board and Policy Committee approved the Fiscal Year 2008 UWP program in June. The Core, Supplemental Core and Competitive sections of the recommended FY08 program total $18,497,215, just under the $18.5 million mark for this year. Further funding breakdowns are presented in the respective sections posted below. Please review the documents and projects. The recommended FY08 program is attached below. All comments and questions should be directed to Matt Maloney, (312) 386-8615, mmaloney "at" cmap.illinois.gov or submitted in writing to Att: UWP Public Comment, 233 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 800, Chicago, Illinois, 60606.
Thank you for your interest.
FY08 UWP Recommended Program
FY08 UWP Submission
FY08 UWP Financial Data
FY08 UWP Quarterly Reports
Past Unified Work Program Documents