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MPO TAC votes to apply for $1.6 million TSMO funding for interstate traveler messaging
Summary
The Erie MPO Technical Advisory Committee voted to apply for a Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) grant covering six priority interstate messaging projects totaling $1.6 million; the grant requires a 20% local match and applications are due Aug. 31.
The Erie Metropolitan Planning Organization Technical Advisory Committee voted to authorize staff to submit an application for TSMO funding covering six priority projects on the interstate system that would install traveler message boards, cameras and related communications.
Committee members said the systems are intended to provide “real time information to travelers to prevent them from having something happen to them on the highway,” and to improve interstate incident awareness and traveler routing.
Jessica Horan, Erie County planning staff, said the application package assembled by PennDOT includes six ranked priority sites and totals $1,600,000. “The match requirement is 20%,” Horan said. “We would be able to cover it. We would and it wouldn't would covering all 6 of these affect any other projects? It does not look like it.”
The committee discussed funding sources and timing: officials said carbon-reduction funds would likely serve as the local match if the full slate is applied for, and that construction would likely begin in fiscal years 2027–28 if projects are awarded. Horan cautioned that applying does not guarantee award: “That doesn't mean that all projects would be awarded,” she said.
After brief discussion the TAC put a motion on the floor to apply for the full slate of six TSMO projects. The motion was seconded and the committee voted in favor; there was no recorded opposition. Committee members emphasized the application is a request to PennDOT and that PennDOT will score and award funding. The application deadline noted in the meeting was Aug. 31.
Next steps: staff will submit the TSMO draft application to PennDOT and, if requested by PennDOT, will coordinate any required district-level consultations and adjust the local match amount to reflect which projects (if any) are awarded.
Why it matters: Interstate message boards and cameras can reduce incident response times and improve traveler safety and mobility on I-79 and I-90 corridors. The 20% local match and the uncertainty of partial awards mean the local cost will depend on which projects are funded.
