TRANSPORTATION (GENERAL); RAILROADS; HIGHWAYS;

TRANSPORTATION;

You asked if a regional planning agency can include both rail and highway projects in its priority list for the region when it compiles its regional transportation plan for use of federal transportation grants.

SUMMARY

Federal law requires a regional planning process as an integral part of the use of any highway-related federal grants administered by the Federal Highway Administration and mass-transit related grants administered by the Federal Transit Administration. As part of this process, the regional planning entity develops both a long-range transportation plan and a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The later document identifies the projects the state and the region have agreed to advance with the use of federal funds over a three-year period. To the extent rail projects have been identified in the long range planning process and are eligible for federal funding (primarily under the Section 5309 capital assistance program) they may be included in the regional TIP.

The federally-required regional planning process is highly structured and complex. The elements of it that relate to your question are explained in very general terms in the following sections of this report.

FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING

The regional transportation planning process to which you referred is required under federal law whenever transportation projects are under consideration for which the sponsoring agency is seeking federal funds under either Title 23 (highway funding administered by the Federal Highway Administration) or Title 49 (transit funding administered by the Federal Transit Administration) of the U. S. Code. Under federal law, the regional planning entity (a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) in the case of urban areas of 50,000 or more population or a regional planning agency in rural areas without such urban centers) must develop a TIP for the region in concert with the state transportation agency. (23 U. S. C. § 134 et seq. ; 49 U. S. C. § 5303 et seq. ) The TIP identifies the region’s project priorities for the use of federal highway and transit funding for a three-year timeframe. It must be updated at least once every two years and approved by the regional governing body.

Thus, if the regional transportation planning agency wants to include a rail project in its TIP, it can do so if the project qualifies for the use of federal funds under Title 49. However, under the federal law and regulations, a TIP must be “fiscally constrained,” that is, it may only include a project, or an identified phase of a project, if full funding can reasonably be anticipated to be available for it within the expected timeframe for its completion.

The process through which the state, acting through the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the regional transportation planning agency reach consensus on projects that will be included in the regional TIPs (and eventually in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program) differs for urban and rural areas. Connecticut has 15 regional planning organizations, 11 of which are designated as MPOs. When an MPO approves its TIP, it must be included in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program without modification once the governor has approved it. Generally, the DOT and the MPO must resolve any differences they have over the projects listed in the TIP before the MPO approves it. This process is required by federal law.

FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAMS FOR RAIL AND OTHER MASS TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS

The FTA administers several grant programs under Title 49. The Section 5309 program provides capital funding for establishing new rail projects (“new starts”), improvement and maintenance of existing rail and other fixed guideway systems, and rehabilitation of bus systems. The Section 5307 program is primarily for capital assistance projects like new bus purchases, but a small portion of the funds may be available to help pay transit operating costs. The Section 5310 program provides capital assistance to nonprofit organizations that provide specialized transportation services to the elderly and disabled and to public agencies approved by the state to coordinate such services. The Section 5311 program provides funding to assist in the development, improvement, and use of public transportation systems in non-urbanized and small urban areas. In Connecticut, Section 5311 funds are used to reimburse rural transit districts for operating and administrative costs; to purchase wheelchair accessible vans and small buses; and for research, technical assistance, training, and related support services.

Any rail projects that a region might advance through its TIP would most likely have to be funded through the Section 5309 grant program.

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