Giacomo Yaquinto, statewide planning branch manager in the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) planning section, gave Tempo meeting attendees an overview of a statewide functional classification review the agency is leading. The review relies on Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) 2023 guidance and used three pilot district assessments to refine a methodology that TxDOT plans to apply across all districts and MPOs.

Why it matters: functional classification designations (principal arterial, minor arterial, collector, etc.) drive planning priorities, funding eligibility and consistency across jurisdictions. The review is intended to bring Texas classifications into closer alignment with FHWA mileage and vehicle-miles-traveled ranges while allowing for regional customization where local conditions differ.

Yaquinto said the process began with a nationwide literature review and examples from states that recently completed similar assessments, including Arizona, Wisconsin, Colorado, Oregon and Kentucky. TxDOT tested its approach in three pilot districts (an urban district, a rural district and a metro/border district) and iterated its scoring criteria based on stakeholder feedback. The agency's approach combines quantitative scoring (AADT, lane width, access control and related measures) with qualitative factors (route continuity, cross-border classification, role in statewide networks) in a four-round process that produces recommended classification changes for local review.

TxDOT staff emphasized stakeholder engagement: the pilot districts met with MPOs, district offices and FHWA, and the agency plans follow-up meetings in other districts and MPO areas through 2026. Yaquinto said the goal is to complete the assessment in January 2027 and to present a single change request to FHWA, an approach used by Arizona DOT, which TxDOT cited as an example.

Pilot-district attendees raised technical points: Lubbock MPO staff said long-term construction zones distorted some traffic counts used by the algorithm and asked TxDOT to account for such anomalies; Texarkana staff asked how MPO policy boards would be informed before FHWA's final approval. Yaquinto said TxDOT will return to pilot districts with finalized results and allow MPO policy boards time to consider recommended changes before FHWA final action.

TxDOT staff identified primary contacts for districts and MPOs (Robert Ramirez, Nick Warren and Eberkim Matimbley) and noted an ArcGIS online map and internal spreadsheet are being used to collect comments and track changes.

Yaquinto asked participants to review upcoming district meeting schedules; TxDOT will continue outreach in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in late October and through a schedule of meetings into 2026 and 2027.