This document is made available electronically by the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library as part of an ongoing digital archiving project. http://www.leg.state.mn.us/lrl/lrl.asp 2018–2021 TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR THE TWIN CITIES METROPOLITAN AREA September 27, 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................. 1 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 2 Federal Requirements and Regional Planning Process .................................................................... 2 Public Participation Opportunities in Preparation of the Transportation Improvement Program ....... 5 Development and Content of the Transportation Improvement Program .......................................... 6 Estimating Project Costs.................................................................................................................. 10 Amending or Modifying the TIP ....................................................................................................... 10 Federal Legislation Changes ........................................................................................................... 11 Federal Program Areas in the Transportation Improvement Program ............................................. 11 2. REGIONAL PLAN AND PRIORITIES .............................................................................................. 14 Conformity to the Clean Air Act Requirements ................................................................................ 14 Thrive MSP 2040 ............................................................................................................................. 15 3. PROJECT SELECTION PROCESSES AND CONSISTENCY WITH FINANCIAL RESOURCES AND ADOPTED TRANSPORTATION PLAN ...................................................................................... 21 Processes to Allocate Federal and State Transportation Funds ..................................................... 21 Resources Available 2018–2021 ..................................................................................................... 22 Project Selection Processes and Criteria ........................................................................................ 25 Project Selection Process for Additional Federal Highway Funds by MnDOT Metro District with Assistance from the Capital Improvement Committee ..................................................................... 26 Competitive Regional Project Selection Process ............................................................................. 27 Transit Project Selection for Sections 5307, 5337, 5339, and 5309 New Starts/Major Capital Investment Funding ......................................................................................................................... 29 Transit Project Selection for Sections 5310 and 5311 Funding ....................................................... 29 Balance of Selected Projects with Available Financial Resources .................................................. 29 State Highways and Local Transportation Operations and Maintenance ........................................ 30 Consistency with the Regional Transportation Plan and Priorities .................................................. 30 Plan Implementation Progress......................................................................................................... 31 FIGURES Figure 1: Twin Cities Metropolitan Area Political Boundaries – Also includes parts of Sherburne and Wright Counties (MN) and St. Croix County (WI) ..................................................................... 3 Figure 2: Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Development and Approval Process ................... 8 Figure 3: Project Selection Processes for Inclusion in the Twin Cities Transportation Improvement Program .................................................................................................................................... 9 Figure 4: Thrive MSP 2040 Community Designations ............................................................................ 20 TABLES Table 1: TIP Amendment and Modification Cost Change Thresholds* ................................................... 11 Table 2: Metropolitan Area Data and Forecasts, 2010-2040 .................................................................. 19 Table 3: Approximate Amount Programmed by Primary Mode Served* ................................................. 22 Table 4: Advanced Construction Funds .................................................................................................. 23 Table 5: Twin Cities Transportation Improvement Program; Four-Year Summary by Funding Source .. 24 Table 6: Federal Highway and State Highway Funds Assumed to be Available to Region 2018-2021 (In Millions) ................................................................................................................................................... 25 Table 7: Federal Transit and Matching Funds Available and Requested by Region 2018-2021 (In Millions) ................................................................................................................................................... 25 Table 8: Summary of Federal Project Funding Categories and Selection Processes ............................ 26 Table 9: Summary of Federal Funding Allocated through the TAB’S Regional Solicitation for Projects in State Fiscal Years 2018-2021 (Federal funds/in millions; Federal Amount only) ................................... 29 Table 10: Distribution of Federal Highway, State Trunk Highway and Matching Funds (in millions) 2018- 2021 ........................................................................................................................................................ 30 Table 11: Distribution of Federal Highway, State Trunk Highway and Matching Funds (in millions) 2018 Annual Element ...................................................................................................................................... 30 Table 12: Status of Major Highway Projects ........................................................................................... 32 Table 13: Status of Major Transit Capital Projects.................................................................................. 34 APPENDICES APPENDIX A Detailed Project Listings by Funding Category and by Route Number of Project Code APPENDIX B Conformity of the 2018-2021 Transportation Improvement Program to the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments APPENDIX C Streamlined TIP Amendment Process The preparation of this report has been funded in part by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration. The contents of this document reflect the views of the author who are responsible for the facts or accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The report does not constitute a standard, specification or regulation. 2018 - 2021 TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM SUMMARY The Twin Cities, Minnesota Metropolitan Planning Organization's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for 2018 through 2021 responds to procedures required by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act). The legislation requires that all federally-funded transportation projects within the metropolitan planning area (Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington counties plus the contiguous urbanized areas1 in parts of Sherburne and Wright Counties along with Houlton, Wisconsin) be included in the region’s TIP. The TIP must be consistent with the projections of federal funds and local matching funds for this time period. All major transportation projects located in the federally-defined carbon monoxide non-attainment area must be evaluated for their conformity with the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990; the air quality conformity analysis must include all federally funded, as well as regionally significant, locally funded projects. The 2018-2021 TIP for the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area includes projects valued at approximately $3.5 billion for highway, transit, bike, and pedestrian projects. Of this total, approximately $1.24 billion is federal highway funding, including Federal Highway Target funds and High Priority Project funds. The region has assumed it will receive approximately $795 million in federal transit funds over the 2018- 2021 period for transit projects. The region will receive $74.5 million in federal transit funds in 2018. The Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) to the Metropolitan Council hosted a public comment period on the TIP prior to adoption. Notice of the public comment period is emailed to groups representing a diverse set of stakeholders. The notification and process are carried out consistent with Metropolitan Council public comment policies. The TAB considered and responded to public comments received on the draft TIP prior to adopting the final TIP. The 2018-2021 TIP, implements, and is consistent with, the region’s long-range transportation plan, the Transportation Policy Plan (TPP), adopted by the Metropolitan Council on January 14, 2015, with US DOT conformity determination established on March 13, 2015. In many cases, the major