860
‘‘(5) TIP.—The term ‘TIP’ means a transpor-
tation improvement program developed by a metro-
politan planning organization under section 5213. 
‘‘(6) URBANIZED
AREA.—The term ‘urbanized 
area’ means a geographic area with a population of 
50,000 or more, as designated by the Bureau of the 
Census. 
‘‘§ 5213. Metropolitan transportation planning 
‘‘(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT OF LONG-RANGE PLANS AND 
TIPS.—To accomplish the objectives in section 5211, 
metropolitan 
planning 
organizations 
designated 
under subsection (b), in cooperation with the State 
and public transportation operators, shall develop 
long-range transportation plans and transportation 
improvement programs for metropolitan planning 
areas of the State. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The plans and TIPs for each 
metropolitan area shall provide for the development 
and integrated management and operation of trans-
portation systems and facilities (including accessible 
pedestrian walkways and bicycle transportation fa-
cilities) that will function as an intermodal transpor-
tation system for the metropolitan planning area and
861
as an integral part of an intermodal transportation 
system for the State and the United States. 
‘‘(3) PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT.—The process 
for developing the plans and TIPs shall provide for 
consideration of all modes of transportation and shall 
be continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive to the 
degree appropriate, based on the complexity of the 
transportation problems to be addressed. 
‘‘(b) DESIGNATION OF METROPOLITAN PLANNING OR-
GANIZATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the transpor-
tation planning process required by this section, a 
metropolitan planning organization shall be des-
ignated for each urbanized area with a population of 
more than 50,000 individuals—
‘‘(A) by agreement between the Governor 
and units of general purpose local government 
that together represent at least 75 percent of the 
affected population (including the largest incor-
porated city (based on population) as named by 
the Bureau of the Census); or 
‘‘(B) in accordance with procedures estab-
lished by applicable State or local law. 
‘‘(2) STRUCTURE.—Each metropolitan planning 
organization that serves an area designated as a
862
transportation management area, when designated or 
redesignated under this subsection, shall consist of—
‘‘(A) local elected officials; 
‘‘(B) officials of public agencies that admin-
ister or operate major modes of transportation in 
the metropolitan area; and 
‘‘(C) appropriate State officials. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATION
ON
STATUTORY
CONSTRUC-
TION.—Nothing in this subsection shall be construed 
to interfere with the authority, under any State law 
in effect on December 18, 1991, of a public agency 
with multimodal transportation responsibilities to—
‘‘(A) develop the plans and TIPs for adop-
tion by a metropolitan planning organization; 
and 
‘‘(B) develop long-range capital plans, co-
ordinate transit services and projects, and carry 
out other activities pursuant to State law. 
‘‘(4) CONTINUING DESIGNATION.—A designation 
of a metropolitan planning organization under this 
subsection or any other provision of law shall remain 
in effect until the metropolitan planning organization 
is redesignated under paragraph (5). 
‘‘(5) REDESIGNATION
PROCEDURES.—A metro-
politan planning organization may be redesignated
863
by agreement between the Governor and units of gen-
eral purpose local government that together represent 
at least 75 percent of the existing planning area pop-
ulation (including the largest incorporated city (based 
on population) as named by the Bureau of the Cen-
sus) as appropriate to carry out this section. 
‘‘(6) DESIGNATION OF MORE THAN 1 METROPOLI-
TAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION.—More than 1 metro-
politan planning organization may be designated 
within an existing metropolitan planning area only 
if the Governor and the existing metropolitan plan-
ning organization determine that the size and com-
plexity of the existing metropolitan planning area 
make designation of more than 1 metropolitan plan-
ning organization for the area appropriate. 
‘‘(c) METROPOLITAN PLANNING AREA BOUNDARIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this sec-
tion, the boundaries of a metropolitan planning area 
shall be determined by agreement between the metro-
politan planning organization and the Governor. 
‘‘(2) INCLUDED AREA.—Each metropolitan plan-
ning area—
‘‘(A) shall encompass at least the existing 
urbanized area and the contiguous area expected
864
to become urbanized within a 20-year forecast 
period for the transportation plan; and 
‘‘(B) may encompass the entire metropoli-
tan statistical area or consolidated metropolitan 
statistical area, as defined by the Bureau of the 
Census. 
‘‘(3) IDENTIFICATION OF NEW URBANIZED AREAS 
WITHIN EXISTING PLANNING AREA BOUNDARIES.—The 
designation by the Bureau of the Census of new ur-
banized areas within an existing metropolitan plan-
ning area shall not require the redesignation of the 
existing metropolitan planning organization. 
‘‘(4) EXISTING METROPOLITAN PLANNING AREAS 
IN
NONATTAINMENT.—Notwithstanding 
paragraph 
(2), in the case of an urbanized area designated as a 
nonattainment area for ozone or carbon monoxide 
under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) as 
of the date of enactment of this paragraph, the bound-
aries of the metropolitan planning area in existence 
as of such date of enactment shall be retained; except 
that the boundaries may be adjusted by agreement of 
the Governor and affected metropolitan planning or-
ganizations in the manner described in subsection 
(b)(5).
865
‘‘(5) NEW METROPOLITAN PLANNING AREAS IN 
NONATTAINMENT.—In the case of an urbanized area 
designated after the date of enactment of this para-
graph as a nonattainment area for ozone or carbon 
monoxide, the boundaries of the metropolitan plan-
ning area—
‘‘(A) shall be established in the manner de-
scribed in subsection (b)(1); 
‘‘(B) shall encompass the areas described in 
paragraph (2)(A); 
‘‘(C) may encompass the areas described in 
paragraph (2)(B); and 
‘‘(D) may address any nonattainment area 
identified under the Clean Air Act for ozone or 
carbon monoxide. 
‘‘(d) COORDINATION IN MULTISTATE AREAS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall encour-
age each Governor with responsibility for a portion of 
a multistate metropolitan area and the appropriate 
metropolitan planning organizations to provide co-
ordinated transportation planning for the entire met-
ropolitan area. 
‘‘(e) MPO CONSULTATION IN PLAN AND TIP COORDI-
NATION.—
866
‘‘(1) NONATTAINMENT AREAS.—If more than 1 
metropolitan planning organization has authority 
within a metropolitan area or an area which is des-
ignated as a nonattainment area for ozone or carbon 
monoxide under the Clean Air Act, each metropolitan 
planning organization shall consult with the other 
metropolitan planning organizations designated for 
such area and the State in the coordination of plans 
and TIPs required by this section. 
‘‘(2) TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS LOCATED 
IN MULTIPLE MPOS.—If a transportation improve-
ment funded from the Highway Trust Fund or au-
thorized under chapter 53 is located within the 
boundaries of more than 1 metropolitan planning 
area, the metropolitan planning organizations shall 
coordinate plans and TIPs regarding the transpor-
tation improvement. 
‘‘(3) RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER PLANNING OF-
FICIALS.—The Secretary shall encourage each metro-
politan planning organization to consult with those 
officials responsible for other types of planning activi-
ties that are affected by transportation in the area 
(including State and local planned growth, economic 
development, environmental protection, airport oper-
ations, and freight movements) or to coordinate its
867
planning process, to the maximum extent practicable, 
with such planning activities. Under the metropolitan 
planning process, transportation plans and TIPs 
shall be developed with due consideration of other re-
lated planning activities within the metropolitan 
area, and the process shall provide for the design and 
delivery of transportation services within the metro-
politan area that are provided by—
‘‘(A) recipients of assistance under chapter 
53; 
‘‘(B) governmental agencies and nonprofit 
organizations (including representatives of the 
agencies and organizations) that receive Federal 
assistance from a source other than the Depart-
ment of Transportation to provide nonemergency 
transportation services; and 
‘‘(C) recipients of assistance under section 
204 of title 23. 
‘‘(f) SCOPE OF PLANNING PROCESS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The goals and objectives de-
veloped through the metropolitan planning process for 
a metropolitan planning area under this section shall 
address the following factors as they relate to the per-
formance of the metropolitan area transportation sys-
tems:
868
‘‘(A) Support of the economic vitality of the 
metropolitan area, especially by enabling global 
competitiveness, productivity, and efficiency. 
‘‘(B) Increases in the safety and security of 
the transportation system for motorized and non-
motorized users. 
‘‘(C) Increases in the accessibility and mo-
bility of people and for freight. 
‘‘(D) Protection and enhancement of the en-
vironment, promotion of energy conservation, 
improvement of the quality of life, and pro-
motion of consistency between transportation im-
provements and State and local planned growth 
and economic development patterns. 
‘‘(E) Enhancement of the integration and 
connectivity of the transportation system, across 
and between modes, for people and freight. 
‘‘(F) Promotion of efficient system manage-
ment and operation. 
‘‘(G) Emphasis on the preservation of the 
existing transportation system. 
‘‘(2) FAILURE TO CONSIDER FACTORS.—The fail-
ure to consider any factor specified in paragraph (1) 
shall not be reviewable by any court under title 23 or 
this title, subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, or
869
chapter 7 of title 5 in any matter affecting a trans-
portation plan, a TIP, a project or strategy, or the 
certification of a planning process. 
‘‘(g) DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PLAN.—
‘‘(2) TRANSPORTATION PLAN.—A transportation 
plan under this section shall be in a form that the 
Secretary determines to be appropriate and shall con-
tain, at a minimum, the following: 
‘‘(A) An identification of transportation fa-
cilities (including major roadways, transit, 
multimodal and intermodal facilities, and inter-
modal connectors) that should function as an in-
tegrated metropolitan transportation system, giv-
ing emphasis to those facilities that serve impor-
tant national and regional transportation func-
tions. In formulating the transportation plan, 
the metropolitan planning organization shall 
consider factors described in subsection (f) as 
such factors relate to a 20-year forecast period. 
‘‘(B) A financial plan that demonstrates 
how the adopted transportation plan can be im-
plemented, indicates resources from public and 
private sources that are reasonably expected to be 
made available to carry out the plan, and rec-
ommends any additional financing strategies for
870
needed projects and programs. The financial 
plan may include, for illustrative purposes, ad-
ditional projects that would be included in the 
adopted transportation plan if reasonable addi-
tional resources beyond those identified in the fi-
nancial plan were available. For the purpose of 
developing the transportation plan, the metro-
politan planning organization, transit operator, 
and State shall cooperatively develop estimates of 
funds that will be available to support plan im-
plementation. 
‘‘(C) Operational and management strate-
gies to improve the performance of existing 
transportation facilities to relieve vehicular con-
gestion and maximize the safety and mobility of 
people and goods. 
‘‘(D) Capital investment and other strate-
gies to preserve the existing and projected future 
metropolitan transportation infrastructure and 
provide for multimodal capacity increases based 
on regional priorities and needs. 
‘‘(E) Proposed transportation and transit 
enhancement activities. 
‘‘(3) COORDINATION WITH CLEAN AIR ACT AGEN-
CIES.—In metropolitan areas which are in nonattain-
871
ment for ozone or carbon monoxide under the Clean 
Air Act, the metropolitan planning organization shall 
coordinate the development of a transportation plan 
with the process for development of the transportation 
control measures of the State implementation plan re-
quired by the Clean Air Act. 
‘‘(4) PARTICIPATION BY INTERESTED PARTIES.—
Before approving a transportation plan, each metro-
politan planning organization shall provide citizens, 
affected public agencies, representatives of public 
transportation employees, freight shippers, providers 
of freight transportation services, private providers of 
transportation, representatives of users of public 
transportation, representatives of users of pedestrian 
walkways and bicycle transportation facilities, rep-
resentatives of the disabled, and other interested par-
ties with a reasonable opportunity to comment on the 
transportation plan, in a manner that the Secretary 
deems appropriate. 
‘‘(5) PUBLICATION.—A transportation plan in-
volving Federal participation shall be published or 
otherwise made readily available by the metropolitan 
planning organization for public review and sub-
mitted for information purposes to the Governor at
872
such times and in such manner as the Secretary shall 
establish. 
‘‘(6) SELECTION
OF
PROJECTS
FROM
ILLUS-
TRATIVE LIST.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2)(B), a 
State or metropolitan planning organization shall not 
be required to select any project from the illustrative 
list of additional projects included in the financial 
plan under paragraph (2)(B). 
‘‘(h) METROPOLITAN TIP.—
‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In cooperation with the 
State and any affected public transportation op-
erator, the metropolitan planning organization 
designated for a metropolitan area shall develop 
a TIP for the area for which the organization is 
designated. 
‘‘(B) OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMENT.—In de-
veloping the TIP, the metropolitan planning or-
ganization, in cooperation with the State and 
any affected public transportation operator, shall 
provide citizens, affected public agencies, rep-
resentatives of public transportation employees, 
freight shippers, providers of freight transpor-
tation services, private providers of transpor-
tation, representatives of users of public trans-
873
portation, representatives of the disabled, rep-
resentatives of users of pedestrian walkways and 
bicycle facilities, and other interested parties 
with a reasonable opportunity to comment on the 
proposed TIP. 
‘‘(C) FUNDING ESTIMATES.—For the pur-
pose of developing the TIP, the metropolitan 
planning organization, public transportation 
agency, and State shall cooperatively develop es-
timates of funds that are reasonably expected to 
be available to support program implementation. 
‘‘(D) UPDATING AND APPROVAL.—The TIP 
shall be updated at least once every 4 years and 
shall be approved by the metropolitan planning 
organization and the Governor. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—
‘‘(A) PRIORITY
LIST.—The TIP shall in-
clude a priority list of proposed federally sup-
ported projects and strategies to be carried out 
within each 4-year period after the initial adop-
tion of the TIP. 
‘‘(B) FINANCIAL PLAN.—The TIP shall in-
clude a financial plan that—
‘‘(i) demonstrates how the TIP can be 
implemented;
874
‘‘(ii) indicates resources from public 
and private sources that are reasonably ex-
pected to be available to carry out the pro-
gram; 
‘‘(iii) identifies innovative financing 
techniques to finance projects, programs, 
and strategies; and 
‘‘(iv) may include, for illustrative pur-
poses, additional projects that would be in-
cluded in the approved TIP if reasonable 
additional resources beyond those identified 
in the financial plan were available. 
‘‘(C) DESCRIPTIONS.—Each project in the 
TIP shall include sufficient descriptive material 
(such as type of work, termini, length, and other 
similar factors) to identify the project or phase 
of the project. 
‘‘(D) CONGESTION
RELIEF
ACTIVITIES.—
The TIP shall include a listing of congestion re-
lief activities to be carried out to meet the re-
quirements of section 139 of title 23, categorized 
as either under one or under three congestion re-
lief activities. 
‘‘(3) INCLUDED PROJECTS.—
875
‘‘(A) PROJECTS UNDER TITLE 23 AND CHAP-
TER 53.—A TIP developed under this subsection 
for a metropolitan area shall include the projects 
within the area that are proposed for funding 
under chapter 1 of title 23 and chapter 53. 
‘‘(B) PROJECTS
UNDER
CHAPTER
OF 
TITLE
23.—All projects proposed for funding 
under chapter 2 of title 23 shall be identified in-
dividually in the TIP. 
‘‘(C) 
CONSISTENCY
WITH
LONG-RANGE 
TRANSPORTATION PLAN.—Each project shall be 
consistent with the long-range transportation 
plan developed under subsection (g) for the area. 
‘‘(D) REQUIREMENT OF ANTICIPATED FULL 
FUNDING.—The program shall include a project, 
or an identified phase of a project, only if full 
funding can reasonably be anticipated to be 
available for the project within the time period 
contemplated for completion of the project. 
‘‘(4) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—Before approving 
a TIP, a metropolitan planning organization, in co-
operation with the State and any affected public 
transportation operator, shall provide citizens, af-
fected public agencies, representatives of public trans-
portation employees, freight shippers, providers of
876
freight transportation services, private providers of 
transportation, representatives of users of public 
transportation, representatives of the disabled, rep-
resentatives of users of pedestrian walkways and bicy-
cle facilities, and other interested parties with reason-
able notice of and an opportunity to comment on the 
proposed program. 
‘‘(5) SELECTION OF PROJECTS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 
provided in subsection (i)(4) and in addition to 
the TIP development required under paragraph 
(1), the selection of federally funded projects in 
metropolitan areas shall be carried out, from the 
approved TIP—
‘‘(i) by—
‘‘(I) in the case of projects under 
title 23, the State; and 
‘‘(II) in the case of projects under 
chapter 53, the designated recipients of 
public transportation funding; and 
‘‘(ii) in cooperation with the metro-
politan planning organization. 
‘‘(B) MODIFICATIONS
TO
PROJECT
PRI-
ORITY.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, action by the Secretary shall not be required
877
to advance a project included in the approved 
TIP in place of another project in the program. 
‘‘(6) SELECTION
OF
PROJECTS
FROM
ILLUS-
TRATIVE LIST.—
‘‘(A) NO REQUIRED SELECTION.—Notwith-
standing paragraph (2)(B)(iv), a State or metro-
politan planning organization shall not be re-
quired to select any project from the illustrative 
list of additional projects included in the finan-
cial plan under paragraph (2)(B)(iv). 
‘‘(B) REQUIRED
ACTION
BY
THE
SEC-
RETARY.—Action by the Secretary shall be re-
quired for a State or metropolitan planning or-
ganization to select any project from the illus-
trative list of additional projects included in the 
financial plan under paragraph (2)(B)(iv) for 
inclusion in an approved TIP. 
‘‘(7) PUBLICATION.—
‘‘(A) PUBLICATION OF TIPS.—A TIP involv-
ing Federal participation shall be published or 
otherwise made readily available by the metro-
politan planning organization for public review. 
‘‘(B) PUBLICATION OF ANNUAL LISTINGS OF 
PROJECTS.—An annual listing of projects for 
which Federal funds have been obligated in the
878
preceding year shall be published or otherwise 
made available by the metropolitan planning or-
ganization for public review. The listing shall be 
consistent with the categories identified in the 
TIP. 
‘‘(i) TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT AREAS.—
‘‘(1) IDENTIFICATION AND DESIGNATION.—
‘‘(A) REQUIRED IDENTIFICATION.—The Sec-
retary shall identify as a transportation man-
agement area each urbanized area (as defined by 
the Bureau of the Census) with a population of 
over 200,000 individuals. 
‘‘(B) DESIGNATIONS
ON
REQUEST.—The 
Secretary shall designate any additional area as 
a transportation management area on the re-
quest of the Governor and the metropolitan plan-
ning organization designated for the area. 
‘‘(2) TRANSPORTATION PLANS.—In a metropoli-
tan planning area serving a transportation manage-
ment area, transportation plans shall be based on a 
continuing and comprehensive transportation plan-
ning process carried out by the metropolitan plan-
ning organization in cooperation with the State and 
public transportation operators.
879
‘‘(3) CONGESTION
MANAGEMENT
PROCESS.—
Within a metropolitan planning area serving a trans-
portation management area, the transportation plan-
ning process under this section shall address conges-
tion management through a process that provides for 
effective management and operation, based on a coop-
eratively developed and implemented metropolitan-
wide strategy, of new and existing transportation fa-
cilities eligible for funding under title 23 and chapter 
53 through the use of travel demand reduction and 
operational management strategies and shall identify 
a sufficient number of congestion relief activities 
under section 139 of title 23 to meet the requirements 
of such section. The Secretary shall establish an ap-
propriate phase-in schedule for compliance with the 
requirements of this section but no sooner than one 
year after the identification of a transportation man-
agement area. 
‘‘(4) SELECTION OF PROJECTS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—All federally funded 
projects carried out within the boundaries of a 
metropolitan planning area serving a transpor-
tation management area under title 23 (exclud-
ing projects carried out on the National High-
way System and projects carried out under the
880
bridge program or the Interstate maintenance 
program) or under chapter 53 shall be selected 
for implementation from the approved TIP by 
the metropolitan planning organization des-
ignated for the area in consultation with the 
State and any affected public transportation op-
erator. 
‘‘(B) 
NATIONAL
HIGHWAY
SYSTEM 
PROJECTS.—Projects, carried out within the 
boundaries of a metropolitan planning area serv-
ing a transportation management area, on the 
National Highway System and projects carried 
out within such boundaries under the bridge pro-
gram or the Interstate maintenance program 
under title 23 shall be selected for implementa-
tion from the approved TIP by the State in co-
operation with the metropolitan planning orga-
nization designated for the area. 
‘‘(5) CERTIFICATION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall—
‘‘(i) ensure that the metropolitan plan-
ning process of a metropolitan planning or-
ganization serving a transportation man-
agement area is being carried out in ac-
881
cordance with applicable provisions of Fed-
eral law; and 
‘‘(ii) subject to subparagraph (B), cer-
tify, not less often than once every 4 years, 
that the requirements of this paragraph are 
met with respect to the metropolitan plan-
ning process. 
‘‘(B) 
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
CERTIFI-
CATION.—The Secretary may make the certifi-
cation under subparagraph (A) if—
‘‘(i) the transportation planning proc-
ess complies with the requirements of this 
section and other applicable requirements of 
Federal law; and 
‘‘(ii) there is a TIP for the metropoli-
tan planning area that has been approved 
by the metropolitan planning organization 
and the Governor. 
‘‘(C) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO CERTIFY.—
‘‘(i) 
WITHHOLDING
OF
PROJECT 
FUNDS.—If a metropolitan planning proc-
ess of a metropolitan planning organization 
serving a transportation management area 
is not certified, the Secretary may withhold 
up to 20 percent of the funds attributable to
882
the metropolitan planning area of the met-
ropolitan planning organization for projects 
funded under title 23 and chapter 53. 
‘‘(ii) 
RESTORATION
OF
WITHHELD 
FUNDS.—The withheld funds shall be re-
stored to the metropolitan planning area at 
such time as the metropolitan planning 
process is certified by the Secretary. 
‘‘(D) REVIEW OF CERTIFICATION.—In mak-
ing certification determinations under this para-
graph, the Secretary shall provide for public in-
volvement appropriate to the metropolitan area 
under review. 
‘‘(j) ABBREVIATED PLANS FOR CERTAIN AREAS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), in 
the case of a metropolitan area not designated as a 
transportation management area under this section, 
the Secretary may provide for the development of an 
abbreviated transportation plan and TIP for the met-
ropolitan planning area that the Secretary deter-
mines is appropriate to achieve the purposes of this 
section, taking into account the complexity of trans-
portation problems in the area. 
‘‘(2) NONATTAINMENT
AREAS.—The Secretary 
may not permit abbreviated plans or TIPs for a met-
883
ropolitan area that is in nonattainment for ozone or 
carbon monoxide under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
7401 et seq.). 
‘‘(k) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN NON-
ATTAINMENT AREAS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provisions of title 23 or chapter 53, for transportation 
management areas classified as nonattainment for 
ozone or carbon monoxide pursuant to the Clean Air 
Act, Federal funds may not be advanced in such area 
for any highway project that will result in a signifi-
cant increase in the carrying capacity for single-occu-
pant vehicles unless the project is addressed through 
a congestion management process. 
‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection applies to 
a nonattainment area within the metropolitan plan-
ning area boundaries determined under subsection 
(c). 
‘‘(l) LIMITATION
ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—
Nothing in this section shall be construed to confer on a 
metropolitan planning organization the authority to im-
pose legal requirements on any transportation facility, pro-
vider, or project not eligible under title 23 or chapter 53. 
‘‘(m) FUNDING.—