May 12, 2015

M E M O R A N D U M

TO:Mr. Dennis MadsenMr. Christopher R. Miller

Mr. Charles BallMr. Dewayne Hellums

Mr. Robert B. LakeMr. James W. Curtis

Ms. Suzanne BurnetteMr. Robert E. Smith, Jr.

Mr. Keith JonesMr. Todd McDonald

Mr. Meinrad TabengwaMr. Cal Markert

FROM:Robert J. Jilla

Multimodal Transportation Engineer

Bureau of Transportation Planning and Modal Programs

BY:Dr. Emmanuel C. Oranika

Metropolitan Transportation Planning Administrator

SUBJECT:Draft FY 2016-2019 Transportation Improvement Program

As you may know, we are in the process of developing the FY 2016- 2019 STIP. Once the STIP is balanced and approved by ALDOT, a draft will be made available inTELUS.[1] Once this information is available we will notify you via email. Please review and prepare your draft FY 2016 - 2019 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) according to guidance and standards issued since 2008, and available on the ALDOT website.

Your draft TIP should be submitted to this office byJune15, 2015. Once your draft is approved, we will forward to FHWA and FTA for comments. Remember that any projects scheduled in FY2015 that were not authorized, should be included in your new TIP. The draft TIP must have MPO approval and include a Resolution signed by the Chairman of the MPO.AnUrban Funds Availability Reportwill be emailed to you with the estimated allocated dollar amount forFY2016–2019. Please use this amount for balancing your TIP.These figures are estimated and could increase or decrease depending on the amount of funds approved in the anticipated continuing resolution (CR) reauthorizing MAP-21. This office will advise the MPOs of all funding updates.

Please include funding tables or listings in your document demonstrating that your TIP is financially constrained.I have enclosed a separate spread sheet for you to fill out and include in your TIP for ALDOT federally-funded projects.All ofthe federally-funded projects in CPMS that will be used in your TIP,mustbe equal to, or have a positive balance against, available funding.

Review the following bullets and make the necessary changes to your TIPs.

Use TELUS to run the TIP report and check for correct project information. Make sure all of your projects have the correctly assignedproject sponsor. (When they print out in TELUS, initially they appear as new projects).

You are required to include a list of previous year authorized projects in the newTIP; you can run this report using TELUS. This is also an annual requirement to be completed by each MPO for the previous year.

You will receive by email a spreadsheet for the ALDOT projectsto be used in preparing yourFY 2016 - 2019 Transportation Improvement Program. Please make sure you complete this spreadsheet and include it in your new TIP to show theprojects are balanced.[2]

It is recommended that you place the RegionallySignificant Projects in an appendix. RegionallySignificant Projects are those projects meeting that description provided in 23 CFR 450.104 and 40 CFR part 93. Please make sure you are familiar with this definition and address accordingly in the TIP. All such projects are expected to be included in the modeled network. As TELUS is not programmed to include or process these projects as a report, you will need to use Excel or Word to include them.

Page numbering requirements have been established in prior years and in all planning document reviews by Metropolitan Planning Section. Please include page numbers in your TIP according to the prescribed convention, and also all project ID nine-digit reference numbers.

Visualization: the Department and reviewing agencies have been increasingly insistent that mapping be improved overall, and that presentation materials used in public meetings, whether documents, video, or PowerPoints, beavailable on Internet websites and otherwise made portable through other electronic media. All projects in the TIP must be mapped, subject to some adjustment, depending on project type. Be sure to include a paragraph in the TIP narrative describing the various visualization processes used.

The Department will increase project cost in CPMS by 1 percent per year, compounded annually. This process will not happen until you prepare your FINAL TIP, so a check of allocated against available funding amounts is recommended, particularly if those numbers are very close. Please remember we are not going to increase funding.We are getting a handle on project costs and keeping the CPMS system in balance. The system consultant has made this adjustmentand we are adding the 1percent to projects.

The Amendment Process and Level of Effort sectionis being sent to the MPOs under separate cover. It will be inthe form of a Memorandum of Understandingbetween ALDOT and FHWA/FTA that attempts to reduce the total number of TIP/STIP amendments in a given year by making changes to the amendment process and Level of Effort project descriptions. Under the authority of 23 CFR 450.324, adjustments have been made to certain definitions and conditions within the formal Amendment process and Administrative Modifications, and following that amendment structure, redefines some elements of Level of Effort (LVOE) projects. MPO staff should become familiar with the MOU and the revised amendment procedures and changes within Level of Effort.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

  • The draft FY 2016 – 19 TIP for all MPOs is due in the Metropolitan Planning Section by June 15, 2015. This will include a Resolution signed by the Chairman of the MPO, approving your draftTIP. After verifying that it is a financially constrained TIP, please have this document completed and into this office on time.
  • In preparing this TIP document, you must include all MPO projects in CPMS made available through the TELUS TIP tool. If you donot have the funds available, you must move a project or projects out of the TIP cyclein order to balance with available funds. A request must be submitted to this office to move a project from the current TIP cycle to out-years. You cannot simplyremove a project from the TIP because you donot have the available funding.
  • Information regarding Self Certification has also been sent out under separate cover. TheMPOSelf-Certification form is required to be included in a new TIP every four (4) years. Please make sure that a fully executed form is in the appendices as provided in a mail out on May 12, 2015.Please forward a copy of the Self-Certification Formsigned by the Chairman, for signature by the Transportation Director. That version will be returned for inclusion in the TIP and as a copy for your files.

After you have completed your draft copy, email it to Jim Doolin at , Victor Jordanat , and Jason Levandoski at r review. Ten (10) copies of your approved draft TIP should be sent to the Metropolitan Planning Section for distribution and agency comment.)MPO staff should be aware and understand that all TIPs and planning documents that require Department and federal agency approval, are subject to contentchange without notice.

If you have any questions concerning the transit programs and projects, please contact Mr. Joe Nix at (334) 353-6421. All other questions can be directed to Jim Doolin at (334) 242-6097. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated.

RJJ:ECO:JD

cc: Mr. Clint Andrews, FHWA

Ms. Abigail Rivera, FTA

FY 2016 - 2019 TIP Files

1

[1] If replacement software for TELUS has been introduced, we will provide guidance and instruction in operation to the MPOs.

[2]Attached is an Excel spreadsheet template for use in presenting MPO projects.