Illinois Department Of Transportation

Illinois Department of Transportation, a U.S. state government entity and division of the State of Illinois, operates as a federal grant recipient administering transportation infrastructure, highway safety, and aviation improvement programs across Illinois on behalf of the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Federal Transit Administration.

IDOT's federal footprint centers on administering formula grants and project grants for surface transportation, highway and bridge infrastructure, aviation facilities, and highway safety programs. The department received over 42,700 awards with combined obligated value of $49.37 billion across the last several years, predominantly in the form of pass-through grants to local municipalities, counties, and airport authorities. Representative prime grant work includes a $16.6 million Project Grant from the Federal Highway Administration under the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects program (CFDA 20.934) awarded March 13, 2026, for a 3-mile elevated rail corridor reconstruction on Chicago's South Side with track reconfiguration, third-track addition, bridge and viaduct replacement, and street-level mobility improvements; a $16.38 million Project Grant under the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega Projects) program (CFDA 20.937) from the Immediate Office of the Secretary of Transportation for the same rail corridor project; and a $53.9 million formula grant from the Federal Highway Administration under the Highway Planning and Construction program (CFDA 20.205) awarded January 13, 2026, for I-80 bridge replacement over the Des Plaines River in Joliet.

IDOT's customer concentration reflects its role as Illinois's state transportation agency: the Federal Highway Administration accounts for 42,005 of the 42,789 total awards, with the Federal Aviation Administration (Great Lakes Region and national), Federal Transit Administration, and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration comprising the remainder. The combined potential value across all awards is $1.1 million, a figure that understates IDOT's federal activity because the obligated dollar total ($49.37 billion) reflects formula allocations and completed infrastructure projects rather than forward-looking potential contract ceilings typical of commercial vendor portfolios.

IDOT administers federal formula grants across multiple FHWA programs including the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (CFDA 20.287), Highway Safety Improvement Program (CFDA 20.272), Bridge Formula Program (CFDA 20.263), Highway Planning and Construction program (CFDA 20.205), and the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program (CFDA 20.277). The department also administers FAA Airport Improvement Program (CFDA 20.106) state block grant programs for nonprimary airports, Section 402 State and Community Highway Safety Grants (CFDA 20.600) from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and multiple NHTSA National Priority Safety Program grants (CFDA 20.616) for occupant protection, impaired driving countermeasures, distracted driving awareness, traffic records improvements, nonmotorized safety, motorcyclist safety, and preventing roadside deaths. Recent awards include $13.4 million in Section 402 highway safety funding, multiple seven-figure NEVI awards for EV charging station design-build-operate projects, and cooperative agreements with the FAA for airport grant administration ($259,020 effective December 18, 2025, through June 30, 2029).

Activity in 2024 peaked at 1,583 awards; 2025 tracked at 1,525 awards with 394 awards completing in the next twenty-four months, representing recompete exposure primarily within highway resurfacing, bridge replacement, traffic signal modernization, and airport infrastructure categories. IDOT receives funding as the sole Illinois state transportation agency recipient and sub-awards federal funds to municipalities, county highway departments, airport authorities, and specialized service providers including MADD, law enforcement agencies, and regional research institutions. The department does not operate as a sub-contractor to federal primes and does not compete under set-aside categories; all awards flow to IDOT in its capacity as the federally designated state administrator for transportation infrastructure and highway safety programs.