Final Scope

The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act significantly expanded planning and performance management requirements for state departments of transportation (DOTs). The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues this emphasis for DOTs. Specifically, DOTs must prepare Strategic Highway Safety Plans (SHSP), Highway Safety Improvement Programs (HSIP), Transportation Asset Management Plans (TAMP), and freight plans. They may also have to prepare or assist with developing Transit Asset Management plans (TAM) or Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans (PTASP). Additionally, state-level legislation or executive requirements on performance management may go beyond federal rules.

DOTs must integrate the goals, objectives, performance measures, and targets described in their performance-based plans into long-range transportation plans (LRTPs) and statewide transportation investment programs (STIPs). However, each state DOT has a unique structure and processes to meet federal and state requirements. There has been limited documentation of DOT practices to integrate performance-based planning requirements and outcomes into LRTPs and STIPs. Specifically, the mechanisms of influence on their LRTPs and STIPs and performance-based planning and programming (PBPP) maturity levels are of interest. 

The objective of this synthesis is to document current DOT practice related to integrating federally required performance-based plans with LRTPs and STIPs (such as SHSP, HSIP, TAMP, freight plans, TAM, PTASP, and other state-level initiatives).

Information to be gathered includes (but is not limited to):

• Practices in response to varied governance structures, such as DOTs reporting to Governors, Commissions, or Legislatures and which internal business units are responsible for integration and implementation of PBPP;
• Practices on balancing priorities between levels of government;
• Practices on coordination between DOTs and MPOs related only to PBPP measures and targets, but specifically the relationships between the LRTPs and Metropolitan Transportation Plans, and STIPs and Transportation Improvement Plans (please note state DOT and MPO coordination is addressed by NCHRP 20-05/54-05 Practices for Statewide and MPO Coordination);
• Practices related to integrating with policy versus project-based LRTPs;
• Practices on the use of proxy indicators versus quantification/forecasting of change in performance when reporting in LRTPs and STIPs;
• Practices on linking measures and project initiation/selection criteria, including identification, use, and interpretation of data to support alignment and coordination with MPOs to influence prioritization schemes if they have adopted DOT targets;
• Practices on synchronizing planning activities with the date-driven requirements of PBPP to adopt measures, set targets, and report outcomes;
• Practices on identifying non-federally required measures and setting targets (such as equity, active transportation, public engagement, accessibility to destinations, or others; please note greenhouse gas emissions are addressed in NCHRP 20-05/54-21 Practices in the Transportation Planning Process to Address Climate Resilience and GHG Emission Quantification and Reduction);
• Practices for communicating and documenting the linkages between performance-based planning documents and LRTPs and STIPs (system performance reporting) to DOT partners, elected officials, federal authorities, or the public; and
• Barriers in integrating PBPP with LRTPs and STIPs (such as how to account for non-NHS roadways, setting achievable versus ambitious targets, staffing, capacity building, and training).