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Signal of the week · Research note · 2 Nov 2026

44 of the 136 contracts in Illinois DOT's 6 November 2026 letting name a bridge, while the federal Bridge Formula Program has had no fiscal 2027 money since 1 October 2026

Public contract listings in Svatantra.ai's signal database show 136 items listed Active for the Illinois Department of Transportation's highway construction letting of 6 November 2026. 44 of them, 32 percent, name a bridge in the work description: 17 build or replace a bridge or its superstructure and 27 repair, paint, wash or seal one. Across IDOT's seven 2026 lettings the bridge share is 23 percent. The letting falls five weeks into a fiscal year in which the Bridge Formula Program, which carried $5.5 billion a year in advance appropriations from fiscal 2022 to 2026, has no funding under the stopgap that runs to 11 December 2026. This note sets out the counts, the named records, the federal funding position as the public record states it, and what the data does not show.

By Jayprakash Mistry, Founder, Svatantra.ai

One email with the PDF attached. You will be on the list for future notes and can unsubscribe from any of them. The list is not sold or shared.

Every number, and where it comes from

The first five figures in the note.

The full table has 18 rows. Each figure is as published on the date shown, with its denominator.

FigureWhat it measuresSource
136Contract items listed Active (status dates 29 September to 2 October 2026) for the IDOT letting of 6 November 2026, read into the database 5 October 2026. 136 distinct item-contract numbers, 136 distinct source URLsSvatantra.ai signal database, count at 30 Oct 2026
44Of the 136, items whose work description names a bridge (whole-word match on 'bridge' or 'bridges')Svatantra.ai signal database, count at 30 Oct 2026
32.4%44 / 136. Author's arithmeticDerived from Svatantra.ai signal database, count at 30 Oct 2026
14; 8; 5; 4; 4; 3; 2; 2; 2Bridge items by IDOT district: District 1 (of 39 items), 6 (of 23), 2 (of 18), 3 (of 12), 9 (of 12), 5 (of 6), 4 (of 3), 7 (of 5), 8 (of 17); the one statewide item (District 0) is not a bridge itemSvatantra.ai signal database, count at 30 Oct 2026
17 and 27Of the 44: build or replace a bridge or superstructure (items 025, 027, 028, 031, 032, 034, 042, 045, 060, 062, 063, 072, 073, 079, 081, 103, 128) and preserve or repair (deck, joint, bearing, patching, sealing or beam supply 17; painting 6; washing 3; approach resurfacing 1). Author's reading of each descriptionDerived from Svatantra.ai signal database, count at 30 Oct 2026

13 more figures in the PDF, each with its source.

Sources

13 primary releases.

  1. Illinois Department of Transportation, Transportation Bulletin, letting of November 06, 2026 (Volume 029, No. 039) (Fetched 30 October 2026)
    143 entries listed, 9 marked Withdrawn (001-60N10, 049-64V52, 065-66P69, 066-66R49, 074-70E42, 075-70F18, 101-93838, 104-74433, 140-99774) and 5 Deleted; no estimated cost figures. Item 053 (contract 64V96): "Bridge washing of 3 structures over the Mississippi River in various counties." Item 025 (contract 61M06): "Construction of a single span PPC deck beam bridge carrying Farrell Rd. over Spring Creek in the city of Joliet." Item 012 (contract 80C66) begins "Bridge Deck overlay, bridge joint replacement and /repair include deck and approach patching, and substructure repair".
    webapps1.dot.illinois.gov
  2. Illinois Department of Transportation, Contract detail, item 128, contract 78A26, Union County, District 9 (Letting November 06, 2026; fetched 30 October 2026)
    "Bridge replacement for SN 091-0003 and 091-0004 at the Dongola Interchange on I-57" over Cypress Road at Big Creek, 0.2 miles east of Dongola. DBE goal 5.00%. Federal Project # BR8D47(696). No estimate shown.
    webapps1.dot.illinois.gov
  3. Illinois Department of Transportation, Contract detail, item 063, contract 66M80, Iroquois County, District 3 (Letting November 06, 2026; fetched 30 October 2026)
    "Superstructure replacement of various structures on I-57 including SN 038-0003", SN 038-0004, 038-0005, 038-0006, 038-0009 and 038-0010, with deck replacements of SN 038-0007 and 038-0008 and structure repairs. DBE goal 10.00%. Federal Project # NHPPI4SM(301). The page notes earlier advertisements as Item 046, Item 082 and Item 059.
    webapps1.dot.illinois.gov
  4. Illinois Department of Transportation, Letting schedule (Fetched 30 October 2026)
    Letting day "11/06/2026 12:00PM"; Request for Authorization to Bid cut-off "11/03/2026 04:30PM". Next lettings 15 January, 5 March and 23 April 2027.
    webapps1.dot.illinois.gov
  5. Federal Highway Administration, Bridge Formula Program (BFP) fact sheet (Accessed 30 October 2026 (undated))
    Advance appropriations from the General Fund: "FY2022: $5.500 billion", and the same for FY2023, FY2024, FY2025 and FY2026; "not subject to any limitation on obligations"; 15% of each State's apportionment set aside for off-system bridges; 100% federal share for off-system bridges owned by a local agency or Tribe.
    highways.dot.gov
  6. Federal Highway Administration, Notice N4510.907, Apportionment of Fiscal Year 2026 Highway Infrastructure Program Funds for the Bridge Formula Program (1 October 2025)
    "$5,500,000,000" appropriated; "$27,500,000" retained for FHWA operations and administration; "$165,000,000" set aside for Tribal Transportation Facility Bridges; "$5,307,500,000" available for distribution to the States.
    highways.dot.gov
  7. AASHTO Journal, House Passes Senate CR to Extend Federal Gov't Funding (3 September 2026)
    HR 6500 passed the House "by a margin of 370 to 48" on 1 September after the Senate "by a vote of 90 to 6" on 8 August; signed 2 September. Funds the government "from October 1, the beginning of fiscal year 2027, through December 11". It "does not provide funding for the Division J advance appropriations programs"; no FY2027 funds available on 1 October for the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail, the Bridge Formula Program and the NEVI formula program.
    aashtojournal.transportation.org
  8. AASHTO Journal, Senate Commerce Leader Details Impact of Funding Cuts (30 October 2026)
    Senator Maria Cantwell updated her office's state-by-state "Chopping Block" reports on the $36.8 billion in FY2027 advance appropriations not renewed; states faced an immediate cut of more than 30 percent to federal transportation funding after 1 October. Cantwell: "Congress can and must act to restore funding for these key programs." AASHTO's Jim Tymon: "State departments of transportation depend on predictable federal investment".
    aashtojournal.transportation.org
  9. US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (Democratic release), Senate Democrats Warn: Massive Cuts to Transportation Infrastructure Ahead (13 May 2026)
    "$36.8 billion-a-year advance appropriations for key transportation programs" expire at the end of FY2026. Bridge Formula Program: "States will see an immediate $5.5 billion reduction." Also lists Port Infrastructure Development Program (81% cut), MEGA, Safe Streets and Roads for All, CRISI (88%), Capital Investment Grants (48%), Appalachian Development Highway System (93%).
    commerce.senate.gov
  10. American Journal of Transportation (Transportation Construction Coalition release), TCC: Major Federal Funding Lapses October 1, Increasing Uncertainty, Putting Major Projects at Risk (30 September 2026)
    The August continuing resolution "did not extend advance appropriations for Division J programs". Bridge Formula Program provides $27.5 billion to repair, rehabilitate and replace bridges; ARTBA data: more than 220,000 bridges, about 35 percent of US bridges, need major repair or replacement. "Congress must restore this funding and keep these critical projects moving."
    ajot.com
  11. Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Advertised Projects Bid Opening Schedule (30 October 2026)
    20 projects with a November 2026 bid opening, 6 with a Project Type containing Bridge, including 614099 "Scheduled and Emergency Structural and Substructure and Related Repairs at Various Locations" (Bridge - Construction, 17 November). Project 608020 "BRIDGE REPLACEMENT, B-17-005, (ARF) (SAGAMORE BRIDGE), US 6 OVER THE CAPE COD CANAL", bid opening 28 July 2027. Context only.
    hwy.massdot.state.ma.us
  12. South Carolina Department of Transportation, Tentative Project Lettings (Fetched 30 October 2026)
    Schedules are "subject to change without notice due to project availability, construction market conditions and available transportation funding"; project detail sits in linked category and monthly PDFs. Context only.
    scdot.org
  13. Svatantra.ai, Signal database (30 October 2026)
    Counted: signals from the Illinois DOT Transportation Bulletin letting lists, one record per item-contract, for the seven lettings dated 16 January to 6 November 2026; a bridge item is a record whose text contains the whole word 'bridge' or 'bridges'; withdrawn items excluded from every denominator. 6 November letting: 136 items, 44 bridge items (32.4%). Seven lettings: 1,035 items, 241 bridge items (23.3%). Context counts for SCDOT, MassDOT and ALDOT November 2026 schedules parsed from let-month, bid-opening and category fields. Counts at 30 October 2026.
    svatantra.ai