MPO approves TIP amendments after $230,817 federal shortfall; two projects scaled back

The Technical Transportation Committee of Tippecanoe County approved two amendments to the 2024–26 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) after staff reported a $230,817 reduction in the area’s fiscal 2026 federal allocation.

Committee members voted to add an FTA Section 5339 award to CityBus’s line in the TIP and separately approved a staff proposal to proportionally reduce two road projects while keeping a safety project fully funded. Doug, an MPO staff member, told the committee, “Unfortunately, this year we’re losing $230,817.”

Why it matters: the cut requires changing planned federal obligations and will reduce the construction funding available for at least two projects next fiscal year; preserving the safety-focused project required staff to propose swapping funding categories if allowed during final obligation.

MPO staff said the shortfall will affect three projects originally planned for FY2026. The emergency vehicle preemption construction project was kept at its prior funding level because it addresses safety; staff recommended reducing the South Ninth Street construction project and the Soldiers’ Home Road right-of-way phase. Doug said staff calculated proportional reductions and presented those as the official FY2026 local allocation.

On the South Ninth Street project, staff reported an original allocation of $5,078,934 and said the project will be reduced by about $202,419. The Soldiers’ Home Road right-of-way phase would be reduced by $28,398, to a proposed new allocation of $684,138, according to staff figures presented to the committee. Doug also described funding-category options: the area’s STBG (Surface Transportation Block Grant) funds are split 80/20, while certain safety funds use a 90/10 match; he said he plans to ask the state office whether STBG can be exchanged for safety funds so the projects could receive the 90/10 split when funds are obligated.

The committee also approved adding CityBus’s recently awarded Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5339 funds into the TIP. MPO staff said CityBus received $427,719 in Section 5339 formula funds for bus or facility improvements, with a local match of “just a pinch over $100,000,” bringing the total project cost to $534,649; the funds will be used to purchase a 35-foot CNG bus to replace a 2011 vehicle. Following a motion to add the award to the TIP, the committee voted by voice and the chair said, “I believe that was unanimous.”

Formal actions taken at the meeting included approval of the previous meeting’s minutes, adoption of the CityBus Section 5339 amendment to the TIP, and approval of the staff plan to absorb the $230,817 shortfall by proportionally reducing the two listed projects while preserving the safety project’s funding. All three motions passed by voice vote with no recorded dissent.

Staff cautioned that the FY2026 TIP remains subject to state and federal obligation timelines: the presenter said the locally adopted 2026 TIP still needs review and adoption by the state department of transportation and federal agencies, and that final obligation timing could push into later months. Doug noted the Federal Highway Administration also manages TIFIA and other special funding categories and that how those categories are assigned will affect final allocations.

Next steps: MPO staff will follow up with the state central office about exchanging funding categories if allowable and will proceed with obligation paperwork. The committee’s vote implements staff’s proposed reallocation; staff will bring detailed obligation-level entries back to the policy board as projects move toward letting and construction.