MPO staff outlines TIP amendment, launches TIP request form and TA application schedule

MPO staff updated the coordinating committee on amendments to the Transportation Improvement Program and on funding application timelines at the June 11 meeting.

An informational amendment (Amendment No. 1) adds PROTECT funds to preliminary engineering and construction phases for the Scour Critical Bridge Group in the Erie 2025 program for federal fiscal years 2025 and 2026, the presentation said. “This was an amendment to add PROTECT funds to the PE and construction phases of the Scour Critical Bridge Group, the Erie 2025 project, in federal fiscal years 2025 and 2026,” a presenter said. The item was informational and did not require a coordinating committee vote because it was completed at the statewide level.

Staff also recorded two email-ballot actions from the coordinating committee: one to approve a local federal-aid representative in Wesleyville and another to add transit funds to the TIP. MPO staff said both email ballots were affirmative and recorded unanimously.

On longer-term programming, staff described the kickoff and schedule for the 2027–2038 TIP update. The MPO will work with a fiscal guidance envelope of $109,200,000 for the next four years and aims to circulate a draft project list to members before August so committees can review projects at the fall meetings and move to public involvement next spring. Staff emphasized that projects generally must be included in the long-range transportation plan (LRTP) to be eligible for TIP funding.

To help jurisdictions submit candidate projects, MPO staff introduced a short, one-page TIP request form. The form asks for a brief description, whether the project is in the LRTP or a capital improvement plan, and other screening factors the MPO uses (for example, performance measures). Staff said municipalities and eligible MPO members should submit completed forms to Courtney, Sarah and Emily by July 11 for initial consideration. “I did put a deadline of July 11, so 1 month,” a staff member said.

Staff and PennDOT also highlighted other funding opportunities. PennDOT’s Transportation Alternatives (TA) set-aside application will open July 14; a draft application is mandatory and due Sept. 5, with final applications due Oct. 31. The TA program funds bicycle and pedestrian facilities, safe routes to school projects, and other nonmotorized transportation improvements. MPO staff noted locally listed “betterment” projects in the LRTP—sidewalks and pedestrian improvements identified for possible incorporation when larger projects are funded—could be submitted to TA, but such projects are often built as add-ons to larger highway or bridge projects; standalone eligibility depends on the specific program rules.

Staff encouraged jurisdictions to seek written guidance on eligibility. “If anyone wants a project considered to go onto the TIP…there is a form that now you can fill out an email to me, Courtney, and Sarah to submit a project,” a staff member said. Staff added they will return a written eligibility response to applicants.

Julia Cornell from PennDOT noted that PennDOT’s traffic-count and VMT datasets inform funding allocations and traffic analyses used by the MPO. Separately, PennDOT announced new paving and overlay projects on I‑90 and I‑79 and said local traffic-count collection is ongoing.

MPO staff closed the update by reminding members that state and federal grant rounds operate on different schedules and that projects submitted to TIP development and to statewide TA programs are assessed under distinct application processes. Staff said they will circulate the TIP request form and the updated bylaws redlines to members and asked that any written comments be emailed to Emily for the record.