Northern Illinois University has entered a decade long intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation designed to help minimize effects of road construction on natural resources and communities.
According to the university, NIU will provide IDOT with "natural resource reviews and assessments for planned IDOT road projects in northern Illinois, including analyses of impacts on plant life, wetlands, wildlife habitats and threatened and endangered species, as well as on community and built environments."
The agreement includes $40 million through June 2035.
NIU's project will be known as the Northern Illinois Roadside Ecology Program overseen by the Northern Illinois Center for Community Sustainability, a research and innovation hub of the Illinois Innovation Network.
The release says NIU faculty members will have the opportunity to expand research on sensitive ecosystems as well as opportunities for graduate students and undergraduate student internships.
