The Tippecanoe Metropolitan Planning Organization policy board voted unanimously to approve an amendment to the transportation improvement program (TIP), adding 11 projects and updating multiple project years, phases and funding sources.

The board approved the amendment after staff presented a comprehensive package of changes affecting projects across the district. Doug, an MPO staff member who led the presentation, said the packet lists individual project details, and summarized the edits that range from minor year shifts to changes in the federal funding type.

The amendment reintroduces a planned bridge truss repair/reconstruction (referred to in the packet as the “225 bridge truss” repair) and includes a sidewalk construction project on State Road 38 that extends from Sagamore Parkway east past Haggerty Lane. Doug described the State Road 38 sidewalk as a multi‑year priority that staff had repeatedly requested and said the INDOT central office recently began a sidewalk‑only funding category for FY27 that helped make the submission possible.

Board members discussed filing the change as amendments to both the FY2024 and FY2026 TIPs because federal review timing remains uncertain. Doug told the board that INDOT’s central office approvals have been delayed and that only two federal highway staff are currently processing TIP amendments in Indianapolis, lengthening review times; to avoid funding gaps staff proposed amending both existing TIP cycles.

A motion to approve the TIP amendment was moved and seconded; the chair called the question and recorded the vote as unanimous. No formal roll call of individual votes was recorded in the transcript.

Why it matters: TIP amendments change which projects are eligible for federal funding and when those funds may be obligated. The amendment adds sidewalks on a state route and restores a bridge reconstruction to the program, both of which affect construction scheduling and local match planning.

What’s next: Staff will transmit the amendment package for INDOT/federal review per the usual process and monitor the central office timeline. Board members did not set additional conditions before transmittal.