TPO outlines SmartMap 2050 LRTP: $36.5 billion cost-feasible plan, $20 billion unfunded needs

The Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) briefed the Citizens' Independent Transportation Trust on the SmartMap 2050 long-range transportation plan adopted by the TPO governing board in September 2024.

"The long range transportation plan is a federally required document that the TPO is entrusted in producing," Chris Rosenberg, representative of the TPO, told the trust. The LRTP updates the county's 25-year outlook and sets priorities for federal, state and local funding eligibility.

Rosenberg said the TPO used an extended public outreach process with 14,000 participants across virtual workshops, in-person open houses in seven transportation planning areas and pop-up events at colleges and universities. Census-based projections used in the plan foresee Miami-Dade's population growing from about 2.7 million (2020) to roughly 3.3 million by 2050 and employment increasing from about 1.4 million to 1.8 million jobs.

The cost-feasible plan includes 1,842 projects with a combined value of about $36.5 billion in year-of-expenditure dollars, Rosenberg said. Projects are organized into four priority bands (three five-year bands and a final 10-year band) that align with the federally required Transportation Improvement Program. The largest project categories by value are highway/roadway/freight and the TPO's "EMAS / smart transit" category, which groups transit and evolving mobility technologies.

Rosenberg highlighted that approximately $20 billion in needs remain unfunded and are listed separately in the LRTP as candidates for future funding. "There are still $20,000,000,000 of projects that we were not able to fit into this plan that are still identified as needs in our community," he said.

The plan was submitted to and approved by the Florida Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration after TPO adoption. Rosenberg encouraged partners and the public to review the full plan and associated materials on the TPO website.

Why it matters: The LRTP governs long-term prioritization and federal funding eligibility for transportation investments across Miami-Dade County. The plan's cost-feasible programming, project priorities and the list of unfunded needs will shape capital funding requests and grant strategies in coming years.

Next steps: The TPO will revisit the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and continue coordination with local agencies to implement priority projects and seek funding for the unfunded list.