FHWA 50-15 Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Contact: Nicole Jones / Doug Hecox Tel: 202-366-0660

Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration Announce Year's Best

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) today jointly announced the Minnesota DOT (MnDOT) as one of this year’s eight Transportation Planning Excellence Award recipients.

“Building a world-class transportation system doesn’t happen overnight, and never by accident,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “These awards recognize the critical role planning plays in meeting America’s future transportation challenges.”

MnDOT was recognized for its 20-Year State Highway Investment Plan (MnSHIP), which draws on public input to guide capital investment plans for transportation projects along the state’s 12,000-mile network of highways. It represents the sort of formalized, long-term planning needed by state and local transportation officials nationwide to make the most of increasingly limited transportation funding. It is MnDOT’s first TPEA.

The state is fiscally constrained to $18 billion in transportation spending over the next 20 years, though MnDOT officials estimate its needs are nearly double that – about $30 billion. The $12 billion gap is one of the primary reasons for a focused, highly prioritized plan that ties transportation funding to performance.

“Good projects are the result of good planning,” said Acting Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau. “A disciplined, long-term vision of the state’s transportation needs in the coming decades is not just good government – it is smart government.”

Selected by an independent panel, the awards are a biennial recognition by the FHWA and FTA of outstanding transportation planning practices performed by planners and decision makers in communities across the country.

This year, eight winners were selected of 35 TPEA submissions from around the nation. Criteria for selection included: community, public involvement and partnerships; context sensitive solutions; innovation and effectiveness; equity; implementation and strategy; multi-modalism; and potential for long-term benefits.

“It’s important to recognize the creative efforts of the nation’s transportation planners,” said Acting Federal Transit Administrator Therese W. McMillan. “The future of our infrastructure system begins with their vision.”

This year’s other winners include:

4th Street/Prater Way Bus RAPID Transit Project Awardee: Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County, Nev. Category: Planning and Environmental Linkages for Livability, Sustainability and Public Health

Bus Stop Accessibility Study Awardee: Roanoke Valley Alleghany Regional Commission Category: Modeling and Technology Applications Transportation, Land-Use, Freight and Operations Planning Linkages Asset Management

CHCNGA-TPO Community-Sensitive Performance-Based Planning Awardee: Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency Category: Planning and Environmental Linkages for Livability, Sustainability and Public Health

Humanizing Infrastructure: Design for the Replacement of I-95 Awardee: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 6 Categories: Public and Educational Planning, Training, and Outreach Planning and Environmental Linkages for Livability, Sustainability and Public Health Modeling and Technology Applications

Moving Forward Update 2035 Regional Transportation Plan Awardee: Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments Categories: Planning and Environmental Linkages for Livability, Sustainability and Public Health Asset Management

Mt. Hood Multimodal Transportation Plan Awardee: Oregon Department of Transportation Category: Emergency and Safety Planning Public and Educational Planning, Training and Outreach Rural, Small, Regional and Tribal Community Planning

Project Connect North Corridor: Taking Transit Where No Transit Has Gone Before! Awardee: Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Texas Category: Public and Educational Planning, Training and Outreach

Additional information about the 2015 TPEA recipients can be found at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/tpea/2015/

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