Kingsport MTPO adopts FY26 Unified Planning Work Program for Virginia planning area

The Kingsport Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization (MTPO) executive board adopted the fiscal year 2026 portion of the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) for the Virginia planning area at its meeting.

The UPWP “is one of our core documents,” Virginia (MPO staff) told the board, describing it as the document that “describes our administrative and operation tasks and budgets for the fiscal year or two years for PDOT.” The staff presentation said the FY26 UPWP programs planning (PL) funds and outlines tasks including program administration, data collection and maintenance, short-range and long-range planning, multimodal planning and special studies.

Board members were told the full UPWP for the state will be presented at the August MTPO meeting for approval after additional TDOT and Federal Highway reviews. Virginia said she had already addressed comments from TDOT and that the draft had been through Federal Highway review, though she noted one set of comments had not yet been incorporated.

After a brief discussion with no substantive amendments, the board moved, seconded and approved the FY26 UPWP portion for Virginia by voice vote. The motion was approved with no opposed voices recorded.

Leslie (MPO staff) and other staff answered procedural questions; no changes to budget totals or line-item funding were made public during the vote. Staff said hard copies of the document were available and that the UPWP includes tables showing how PL funds are programmed across tasks for both Kingsport MTPO and Lenowisco.

The board’s adoption advances the MPO’s formal planning budget and task list for FY26; staff will return to the board with the full, consolidated UPWP in August for final adoption covering state and regional elements.

Less critical meeting items that followed included TIP amendments and regular project updates from staff and TDOT.