Every traffic jam has a cost: lost time, missed deliveries, and millions in economic drag. At the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), publicly funded research is driving the kind of innovation that helps Illinois move smarter.

At the center of it all is the Gateway Traveler Information System, or GTIS, a traffic data platform used by hundreds of thousands of travelers and agencies each month. Developed and operated by researchers in UIC’s College of Engineering, GTIS delivers real-time travel information and infrastructure insights across Illinois and seven neighboring states.

This system and the public it serves continue to benefit from a longstanding partnership between the university and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). In 2023, IDOT invested $5.1 million in UIC’s ongoing research, reinforcing a decades-long collaboration that has brought in more than $40 million in cumulative funding to support intelligent transportation systems research.

“GTIS is essential to how IDOT and the public navigate transportation across Illinois,” said John Dillenburg, associate director of the UIC AI Lab. “This funding ensures we can continue developing tools that directly impact how goods move, how people commute, and how decisions are made.”

Beyond improving travel, UIC’s research directly supports the workforce. A team of more than 40 engineers, developers, and student interns runs the system and gains hands-on experience in high-impact fields such as AI, machine vision, and systems engineering.

It’s research spending in action: Public investment becomes operational systems, skilled talent, and a safer, more connected transportation network for Illinois and the Midwest.