The Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) (.pdf) describes our annual planning work to address ongoing and emerging transportation issues. Preparation of the UPWP is required by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and serves as the basis for federal funding assistance for transportation planning.
The UPWP helps our member agencies coordinate various planning activities and relate transportation planning concerns to other planning activities in the region. Funding support for the work program comes from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Dutchess County and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) provide the required matching funds for all UPWP tasks.
We're working on a mix of transportation planning tasks for 2026-2027:
Complete our update of Moving Dutchess Forward – the new countywide Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) for Dutchess County – following the framework of the current Plan but using a 2050 planning horizon year.
Complete a new Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan (‘Coordinated Plan’) for Dutchess County, outlining strategies to address gaps related to transportation services for vulnerable populations such as people with disabilities and older adults.
Working with our municipalities, agencies, and other partners, progress recommendations from previous studies such as Poughkeepsie 9.44.55, Beacon-Hopewell Rail Trail Feasibility Study, Transportation Safety Action Plan (SAP), and Resilient Ways Forward.
Complete a sidewalk condition inventory for the City of Beacon to support future capital programming.
Continue our long-standing vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle count program and our analysis of high-end speeding on county and local roads using data from the count program.
Continue our Watch Out For Me campaign to increase awareness of safety issues in Dutchess County, as part of the County’s Complete Streets Committee.
Progress federally funded highway and transit projects in our new Capital Program (TIP) for FFY 2026-2030.
Progress any relevant recommendations from our recent Federal Certification Review.
We worked with member agencies, local communities, and stakeholders on a variety of transportation planning activities during the 2025-2026 program year, highlighted below:
Completed the Beacon-Hopewell Rail Trail Feasibility Study, which determined that developing a rail trail was indeed feasible along the inactive Beacon Line from Beacon to Hopewell Junction. The study includes an assessment of existing conditions, documents the challenges and opportunities of constructing a rail trail, and presents a recommended trail concept with cost estimates.
Completed a countywide Transportation Safety Action Plan (SAP) to develop strategies to reduce fatal and serious injury crashes. The SAP reflects USDOT’s Safe System Approach and meets the requirements of USDOT’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program.
Initiated an update to the countywide Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP), titled Moving Dutchess Forward, which will serve as the guiding vision for improving transportation in Dutchess County over the next 25 years. Following the framework of the current Plan, but using a 2050 horizon year, we launched an updated website, completed an online survey, held two virtual public meetings, and attended several in-person pop-up events.
Completed substantial work on a new Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan (‘Coordinated Plan’) for Dutchess County, outlining strategies to address gaps related to transportation services for vulnerable populations such as people with disabilities and older adults.
Initiated a sidewalk condition inventory for the City of Beacon to include an assessment of sidewalks as well as curb ramps, crosswalks, and pedestrian signals.
Completed a traffic signal optimization study of 19 intersections along the Route 9/9D corridors in the Towns of Fishkill, Poughkeepsie, and Wappinger, Villages of Fishkill and Wappingers Falls, and City of Beacon.
Continued a series of updates to the Functional Classification of state, county, and local roads in the county, to better reflect their role in the network and changes in population, land use, and travel.
Completed the 2025 Traffic Count Program, collecting volume, classification, and speed data at 197 locations.
We rely on federal planning funds to carry out our metropolitan transportation planning process. These funds, allocated on an annual basis and programmed through the UPWP, come from two primary sources: the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Planning Program (PL) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Section 5303 Metropolitan Planning Program (MPP). The funds are authorized through federal transportation law, the most recent being the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). For 2026-2027, the estimated federal allocation for New York State totals over $45 million. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) distributes the funds to the 14 MPOs in New York State based on a formula that accounts for each MPO's planning area population and its TMA status.
These planning funds, like other federal transportation funding, are administered through NYSDOT on a reimbursement basis. We must first perform the planning work, after which we are reimbursed for the federal share of the cost. Our staff administer UPWP activities and submit quarterly reimbursement requests and activity reports to NYSDOT.
As with most federal transportation funding, a 20 percent local match is required for the federal planning funds used in the UPWP. NYSDOT provides a 15 percent toll credit/in-kind service match, while Dutchess County provides a five percent monetary match.
2026-2027 Budget
The annual funding estimate for our 2026-2027 planning program totals almost $1.5 million. This includes over $735,000 in FHWA funding, almost $158,000 in FTA funding, and an estimated $659,000 in unspent FHWA funding from previous years. All funds, including the unspent balance of FHWA funding, have been programmed for 2026-2027.
