The Georgia Department of Transportation is working with Chicago-based commercial real estate company JLL to plan a network of electric vehicle charging stations across the state.

The plan is a required step toward landing federal funds for charging stations through a $5 billion grant program established by the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure spending bill Congress passed last fall.

The grants will help states deploy charging stations in convenient locations. Georgia political and business leaders have identified an adequate supply of EV charging stations as vital to continued economic development as the number of electric vehicles on the highways grows.

The DOT and JLL are partnering with Ernst & Young and HNTB on the project.

To meet the grant program’s guidelines, the plan must demonstrate adequate EV charging coverage along previously established corridors for alternative fueling and provide a strategy for upgrading and expanding charging station installations over time.

The plan must be sent to the newly established federal Joint Office of Energy and Transportation by Aug. 1.