Texas Administrative Code › Title 43 - TRANSPORTATION › Part 1 - TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION › Chapter 16 - PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS › Subchapter C - TRANSPORTATION PROGRAMS › Section 16.101 - Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
				  Requirements. Title
				  23 U.S.C. §
											134 and 23 C.F.R. Part 450 , require the
				  metropolitan transportation planning process to include the development of a
				  transportation improvement program (TIP) for the metropolitan planning area,
				  containing a list of projects that have been approved for development in the
				  near term. The list must be prioritized by project within each funding category
				  as described in §
										16.105(b)
				  of this subchapter (relating to Unified Transportation Program (UTP)). The TIP
				  shall be designed such that once implemented, it makes progress toward
				  achieving the required federal performance targets. The TIP shall include, to
				  the maximum extent practicable, a description of the anticipated effect of the
				  TIP toward achieving those performance targets and a demonstration of the link
				  between the investment priorities to those performance targets. An approved TIP
				  is then included in the statewide transportation improvement program (STIP)
				  which contains a listing of projects for all areas of the state that are likely
				  to be implemented in that identified four-year period.
(b) Development of transportation improvement
				  program (TIP). The MPO designated for a metropolitan planning area, in
				  cooperation with the department and public transportation operators as defined
				  by 23 C.F.R. Part 450, shall develop a TIP and financial plan in accordance
				  with federal requirements. The department will provide an MPO with estimates of
				  available federal and state funds to be used in developing the financial plan
				  in accordance with §
										16.152 of
				  this chapter (relating to Cash Flow Forecast). The TIP shall cover the
				  metropolitan planning area and shall be approved and amended in accordance with
				  subsection (h) of this section. The TIP shall be updated and approved in
				  accordance with federal regulations and, in the discretion of the department in
				  consultation with the metropolitan planning organizations, may be updated more
				  frequently than every four years.
(c) Grouping of projects. Projects that are
				  not considered by the department and the MPO to be of appropriate scale for
				  individual identification in a given program year may be grouped by function,
				  geographic area, or work type (e.g., minor rehabilitation, preventive
				  maintenance). In nonattainment and maintenance areas, classification must be
				  consistent with the exempt project classifications contained in the EPA
				  conformity regulations.
(d)
				  Projects excluded. The following projects may be excluded from the TIP by
				  agreement between the department and the MPO:
(1) safety projects funded under
				  23 U.S.C. §
												402 (highway safety programs) and emergency
				  relief projects, except those involving substantial functional, location, and
				  capacity changes;
(2) planning and
				  research activities, except those activities funded with National Highway
				  System or Surface Transportation Program funds other than those used for major
				  investment studies; and
(3)
				  projects under
				  23
				  U.S.C. §
												104(b)(1),
				  (b)(4), and §
											144
				  that are for resurfacing, restoration, rehabilitation, reconstruction, or
				  highway safety improvement, and which will not alter the functional traffic
				  capacity or capability of the facility being improved.