The Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is the formal capital program that assigns federal funds to highway, bridge, pedestrian, bicycle, and transit projects over a five-year period (by federal fiscal year). Each listing identifies a project's proposed scope, schedule, cost, and fund source. Both federal and state funded projects are shown in the TIP, in order to provide a comprehensive view of transportation projects in the county. Inclusion on the TIP allows environmental studies, project development, and construction to proceed according to the schedule presented. The TIP is developed in cooperation with state and local officials, regional and local transit operators, and other affected agencies. Projects on the TIP must be consistent with the goals in our Transportation Plan.
Developing the TIP
The TIP development process includes two main activities: 1) updating costs and schedules for existing projects carried over from the previous TIP, and 2) soliciting new highway and transit projects. For existing projects, we work with state and local highway agencies, municipalities, and transit operators to evaluate their projects and adjust them based on changes in funding availability, project schedules and scopes, and local priorities.
When funds are available, we issue a call for projects to local municipalities and transit providers. Our Planning Committee reviews eligible applications, and consulting with staff, determines which projects should be included in the draft TIP. The draft TIP is then presented to our voting members for final approval.
Final approval allows the TIP to be included in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), which contains TIPs from all 14 NYSMPOs and the State’s program of projects for rural counties. Federal approval, effective October 1 of the applicable Federal Fiscal Year, concludes the TIP update process and results in the final Statewide TIP. Periodic TIP amendments are made as needed between update cycles.
On June 27, 2019, the DCTC approved the FFY 2020-2024 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) (.pdf) and accompanying Conformity Statement (.pdf). A public comment period was held from May 24th until June 24th, 2019, and a public meeting was held on June 5th, 2019. The presentation from that meeting can be found here. The new TIP went into effect on October 1, 2019 (the beginning of federal fiscal year 2020).
The Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2020-2024 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is our current list of federally-funded transportation projects in Dutchess County. Developed as part of our metropolitan transportation planning process, the TIP identifies capital and non‐capital transportation projects that are proposed for funding through federal highway and transit programs. The TIP must be updated every four years and be approved by the DCTC and the Governor. In New York, the TIP update cycle coincides with the update of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), which is typically done every three years. The TIP must adhere to the current federal transportation law, which authorizes the funding programs that support local transportation projects.
The TIP is an essential product of the overall transportation planning process, since it is through the TIP that we commit to the implementation of transportation projects. Once a project is programmed on the TIP, a sponsor may proceed with activities such as detailed design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction. Projects on the TIP must be consistent with the goals and recommendations identified in Moving Dutchess 2, our current Transportation Plan.
The FAST Act requires that the TIP be financially constrained by using estimates of current and future revenues that are expected to be available during the time period. Financial constraint applies to each fiscal year and federal program, though exceptions are allowed if other federal funds are available to compensate for shortages in a program. Financial constraint not only applies to the DCTC's program, but also for NYSDOT's program, where both must show that funding programs are fiscally constrained (i.e. balanced) by year and fund type for the four-year STIP period. FHWA, FTA, and NYSDOT consider years beyond the STIP, such as FFY 2024, as informational only.
The FFY 2020-2024 TIP programs almost $171 million in federal transportation funding in Dutchess County, with $109 million for state and local highway projects and $62 million for regional commuter rail and local bus transit projects. This represents an annual average federal program of approximately $34 million per year in Dutchess County ($21.8 million for highway projects and $12.3 million for transit). At $68 million for the five-year TIP period, the FHWA’s NHPP program provides the largest share of programmed transportation funding in Dutchess, accounting for almost 40 percent of all federal funding and 63 percent of all FHWA funding. The FTA’s Section 5337 program, which is limited to maintaining commuter rail infrastructure, provides the second largest share at almost $39 million or 23 percent of all programmed funding. These funds are used exclusively by the MTA to maintain rail service in the TMA area.
See our TIP Viewer for specific project information
(All files .pdf)
Our TIP Viewer provides project information for the FFY 2020-2024 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) (.pdf): the five-year capital program of transportation projects in Dutchess County that use federal highway or transit funding.
Click here to access our TIP Viewer
The TIP is revised based on changing priorities, project schedules, and costs. Revisions to the TIP are classified as either Amendments or Administrative Modifications, as outlined below. Each has a different approval process, based on our adopted criteria. To keep the TIP financially constrained, a cost increase or schedule change may require an offset from another project.
Amendments
An Amendment is a revision that involves a major change to a project, including the addition or deletion of a project or a major change in design concept or scope, cost, or the project/project phase initiation date. Amendments require a 15-day public review and comment period and DCTC voting member approval. Examples of actions that require an Amendment include:
Administrative Modifications
An Administrative Modification is a revision that includes minor changes to a project's scope, schedule, or cost. An Administrative Modification does not require public review or voting member approval and is typically requested by the project sponsor.
(All files .pdf)
Amendments
No Amendments have yet been made to the 2020-2024 TIP.
Administrative Modifications
No Administrative Modifications have yet been made to the 2020-2024 TIP.
Purpose
The TIP represents our five-year list of federally-funded transportation projects in Dutchess County. The TIP includes projects that will be wholly or partially paid for with funds from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
The TIP lists the schedule and estimated cost for each phase of a project. Project schedules and costs change periodically, usually as the result of personnel, consultant, or resource availability, and the refinement of a project’s scope as it is advanced. The TIP, though updated to reflect project schedules and costs prior to obligation, does not provide real-time, accounting-level precision of project costs and schedules. To ensure that the public has an accurate understanding of how federal funds are actually spent on transportation projects, the current federal transportation law, the FAST Act, includes a requirement that organizations responsible for approving the TIP publish an annual listing of project obligations. See our Annual Listing of Obligated Projects for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2018 (.pdf).
What are project obligations?
Think of setting up a checking account for a purchase and then making an initial deposit. In order to begin work on any phase of a transportation project, federal funds must be obligated. This means that money is set aside for that project (i.e. deposited in the "checking account" for the project), which can then be used to pay bills. Project expenses may include costs from an engineering consultant or construction contractor, or for actual construction materials.
Do project obligations mean the work is underway?
Not always. Project obligations are made to allow a project to begin, but it takes time to get work underway once a phase is obligated. For example, once the construction phase is obligated, the project can then be advertised for bids. The advertisement period can vary depending on the size and complexity of the project. Bids are then opened and verified and the project awarded to a contractor. This process can create a three-month lag between initial obligation and noticeable work performed by the contractor at the site.
There are cases when a project phase is obligated, but work is never started or not completed in a timely manner; these are generally due to competing sponsor priorities and funding constraints. If you have a question on the status of a specific project, we recommend contacting the project sponsor.
Project Listing
Our current Obligation Report (.pdf) lists projects that had federal funds obligated during FFY 2018 (October 1, 2017–September 30, 2018). The report is split into two parts, for FHWA and FTA funded projects. The report includes basic data about each obligated project, such as the Project Identification Number (PIN), project description and sponsor, total federal cost, the amount of federal funds programmed, and the amount of federal funds obligated.
