Council approves Long‑Range Transportation Plan; DelDOT sets I‑95 rehabilitation to begin March 2021

The Delaware Council on Transportation unanimously approved the state’s Long‑Range Transportation Plan at its Dec. 16, 2019 meeting in Dover, following presentations from Department of Transportation officials about FY2021 priorities and project scheduling.

Deputy Secretary Nicole Majeski opened the meeting on behalf of Secretary Cohen and presented Department updates, the FY21 initiatives and the Legislative Agenda. On the I‑95 Rehabilitation Project she said, "The construction for this project will start in March of 2021," and noted DelDOT has a project overview video on its website.

Mike DuRoss presented highlights of the Long‑Range Plan and reminded the council that the Delaware Code gives the Council authority to approve the Plan. Councilman John Gilbert moved to approve the Long‑Range Transportation Plan; Councilwoman Pam Scott seconded the motion and the Plan "was unanimously approved." The council also approved the meeting minutes from Aug. 29, 2019 earlier in the session.

Anson Gock described the proposed Enhanced Project Prioritization criteria DelDOT is applying to the draft FY21–26 Capital Transportation Program: Safety; System Operating Effectiveness; Revenue Generation/Economic Development/Jobs and Commerce; Impact on the Public/Social Disruption/Environmental Justice; and State and Local Priority. Gock said changes in project ranking "could be attributed to the Safety criteria or others or may be in combination of two or three criteria." DelDOT presented the proposals to metropolitan planning organizations and at public workshops and provided handouts showing ranking changes under the proposed criteria.

Drew Boyce reviewed the Draft FY21–FY26 Capital Transportation Program and summarized comments from CTP hearings held in September 2019. He said DelDOT will not be recommending major changes to the proposed plan but will use public comments to guide development and minor adjustments to project names, scope, schedules and budgets.

Members of the public and attendees asked questions about the relationship between Transportation Improvement Districts (TIDs) and the CTP, the availability of specific TID materials and Traffic Management Center (TMC) data, and how projects are prioritized within funding categories. In response, Boyce said projects in a TID receive points under the economic development criterion, and that DelDOT presented the Henlopen TID plan to the Sussex County Council in November and plans public outreach with website updates around DelDOT’s public workshop in February. Shanté Hastings said DelDOT "tracks the information internally, but the information is not something that is released for public information, but if someone were to have a specific request for information, DelDOT would be able to provide it." Lanie Thornton, DelDOT finance, explained that project funding comes from the Transportation Trust Fund and is matched with federal funding allocated to DelDOT; federal allocations are categorized (for example, rural areas and populations greater than 200,000) and those categories affect how funds are applied to projects.

The council concluded with a motion to adjourn; Councilwoman Pam Scott moved to adjourn, Councilman Martin Lessner seconded and the meeting was closed. The Recording Secretary filed the minutes.