Highways
Highways
Highways Division’s Mid-Range Transportation Plan
By: Richard Wollenbecker
How will the Mid-Range Transportation Plan help?
Why is the Mid-Range Transportation Plan needed? The Mid-Range Transportation Plan will be the Highways Division’s new tool for prioritizing projects developed to address the diverse needs of the State Highways System. Currently, programs develop lists of recommended projects based on the needs and priorities within their individual program. Each program could recommend dozens, sometimes hundreds of projects requiring millions to billions of dollars to implement. Because of the large number and diverse types of projects, comparing priorities across the programs is a difficult task. It is also not possible, of course, to implement all the recommendations from the programs as they greatly outweigh available resources. Here are some example projects from various programs:
The Mid-Range Transportation Plan will refine how projects are evaluated and provide a more effective method of comparing projects from across programs and evaluating funding scenarios. It will have a 10-year horizon with its first four years feeding the Highways Division’s shortrange budgets: the federally required Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), the Capital Improvement Program, and the Special Maintenance Program. Having a 10-year horizon that is data driven and transparent will also help the Highways Division be better able to plan for, develop, and deliver projects by, for example, identifying project delivery issues earlier (therefore reducing delays), aligning needs within the same corridor, and improving scope definition.
See PLAN on page 18 PAGE 17
