TRANSPORTATION

IMPROVEMENT

PROGRAM

2021-2024

How Projects are Selected

For a project to receive funding in the 2021-2024 TIP, it must meet a long list of state and federal guidelines for traffic safety, air quality and environmental justice.  It also must align with the vision of FutureLV: The Regional Plan, and its 25-year Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP).  A core concept of FutureLV is Centers and Corridors, a long-range transportation investment plan that directs redevelopment, reuse and new construction to 57 economic and housing activity Centers around the Lehigh Valley and along the Corridors that connect them. Transportation project investments are then targeted to be consistent with that concept and must be identified in FutureLV before they can be programmed in the TIP.

These steps were implemented during the project selection process:

1. Call for Projects — An open call for Long-Range Transportation Plan projects went out to the public requesting federally eligible transportation projects.
2. Project evaluation process — Lehigh Valley Transportation Study (LVTS) evaluated each project submitted in eight proposal types that included Bridges; Traffic Management Technologies; Roadway Reconstruction, Modernization and Automation; Multi-use and Bicycle Facilities; Pedestrian Facilities; Transit Expansion and Modernization; Rail; and Study or Plan.
3. Project ranking — Projects were then awarded detailed scores, ranked by score with consideration for its category, and prioritized.
4. Preliminary findings — The ranking of projects was opened for public comment and each project sponsor was able to present project proposals and discuss them with LVTS committee members and the public. The LVTS then analyzed the proposals and checked for consistency with overall regional priorities, all operating within defined fiscal constraints. Any qualified project that could not be funded was added to an unmet needs list of projects that can be considered for future funding.
5. Adoption — The final list of Long-Range Transportation Plan projects was adopted by LVTS on October 2, 2019.

The TIP is a constantly evolving program that changes as project costs and schedules adjust. By federal statute the program is what’s known as “fiscally constrained”, which means that the total cost of the projects on the TIP cannot exceed the money expected to be received by the LVTS. When costs increase for one project, the money often has to come from another, just as savings on a particular project can be moved into one that needs more money.

Nearly 89% ($267,454,921) of the total funding for roadway and bridge projects or multimodal non-transit programs included in the 2021-2024 TIP ($302,119,706), carried forward from previous 2019-2022 TIP. Managing the flow of money is equally as important as managing the project schedule. Because the four-year TIP is updated every two years, the final two years of one program serves as the first two years of the next program.

This funding strategy addresses high-priority transportation needs and is designed to promote a modern, efficient transportation network. The TIP is critical to the economic and social future of the region, targeting infrastructure investments that support a vibrant, inclusive, resilient and growing Lehigh Valley.

Performance-Based Planning

The 2021-2024 TIP will be the first in the region that’s based on three new federally set performance measures designed to reduce injuries, save lives and better manage maintenance of the region’s transportation network.

One set of measures prescribed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and adopted by the LVTS in January of 2020, requires recording data on fatalities and injuries, and setting new safety goals to reduce those.

A second set of measures, adopted in 2018, collects data on National Highway System and National Interstate System pavement and bridge surface conditions, and sets standards to improve those conditions.

And a third set of measures was added in 2019 to collect data on congestion and air quality impacts, by cars and trucks, on the National Highway System and National Interstate System.

With all three measures in place for the first time, the goal is clear: Collect data and target transportation investments to improve the system.

Annually, the FHWA will determine whether PennDOT and the LVTS have met or made progress in meeting their goals. The end result is a project selection process rooted in data and analysis to enhance transportation system performance.

Air Quality & Environmental Justice

Every project on the TIP must meet federal air quality conformity standards through travel demand modeling, as well as an Environmental Justice Benefits and Burdens analysis.

The Lehigh Valley is required to perform travel forecasting to determine transportation network demand.  Transportation network demand is then evaluated for conformity under the 2008 eight-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and the 2006 24-hour NAAQS. That evaluation is designed to ensure that federal funding goes to projects that are consistent with air quality standards.

An Environmental Justice analysis is also performed to determine how projects affect access to jobs, shopping, education and mobility for disadvantaged populations such as elderly, disabled, minority and low-income people. A conditions assessment was conducted to determine crash, transit, pavement and bridge condition data in neighborhoods where disadvantaged populations live. That information serves as a basis for evaluating the burdens and benefits of the TIP. Using Environmental Justice criteria for project selection helps address long-standing challenges experienced by residents of historically disadvantaged communities with limited transportation alternatives, or who live in places with environmental conditions threatening health and safety.

The overall goal is to reduce vehicle emissions to improve air quality and eliminate barriers to access, improving the quality of the transportation system for everyone, equitably.

2021-2024 TOTAL TIP INVESTMENT

2021-2024 PROJECTS

This report was prepared by The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission on behalf of the  Lehigh Valley Transportation Study. This report has been financed in part through funding from the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, under the State Planning and Research Program, Section 505 [or Metropolitan Planning Program, Section 104(f)] of Title 23, U.S. Code. The contents of this report do not necessarily reflect the official views or policy of the U.S. Department of Transportation.