2020 - 2024 Transportation Improvement Program
Chapter 2
THE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
What is the TIP?
As a condition for receipt of transportation funding, the federal government requires that the metropolitan transportation planning process include the cooperative development of a Transportation Improvement Program, or TIP. The TIP identifies the timing and funding of all capital and non-capital highway, bridge, transit, bicycle, pedestrian, and other surface transportation projects scheduled for implementation in a given region using federal transportation funds.
The TIP must cover at least a four-year period. It must be consistent with the goals and objectives identified in the current Long Range Transportation Plan for the region, and adopted by the local MPO; in this region, GTC.
The TIP must also be fiscally constrained. That is, the total amount of funds programmed in the TIP must not exceed the projected total amount of funds reasonably expected to be available to the region for that period. GTC staff worked with the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA) to develop the projections of reasonably expected federal revenues to the region for the time period covered in the TIP.
While this region has been successful in securing discretionary funds, this revenue is not predictable and was not included in the revenue projections. Accordingly, only funds apportioned to NYSDOT and RGRTA via formula are considered reasonably expected to be available for the time period covered by the TIP and discretionary funds included in the TIP are those that have already been authorized or appropriated.
In some cases the TIP may also include, for illustrative purposes, major transportation projects for which federal funds are desired but not yet included in the fiscally-constrained revenue projections. The 2020-2024 TIP does not include any projects for illustrative purposes.
In accordance with federal guidance for demonstrating fiscal constraint, a table presenting reasonably expected revenues and the amounts programmed in the TIP by federal funding source is provided (see Exhibit 3). Project costs are provided in Year of Expenditure (YOE) dollars utilizing agreed upon inflation factors representative of likely escalation in materials and labor costs.
This region’s TIP spans a five-year period and is updated as often as every two years. This TIP covers the time period of October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2023 (Federal Fiscal Years 2020 through 2023). It is developed in a fashion that directly responds to the goals and objectives of the current GTC Long Range Transportation Plan for the region.