The New Jersey Department of Transportation allocates funds to projects and programs through two main capital program documents: the transportation
capital program and the statewide transportation improvement program.
The transportation capital program is a document required by state law. This program allocates state and federal transportation funding for the period
of one state fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) for both the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the New Jersey Transit Corporation. It also
includes funds that are allocated to counties and municipalities. The new document is the Transportation Capital Program for Fiscal Year 2009, which began July 1, 2008.
A companion document, the Statewide Capital Investment Strategy for Fiscal Years 2009 - 2018, lays out
capital investment goals for NJDOT, NJ TRANSIT, Turnpike Authority, and South Jersey Transportation Authority. While the Capital Program details the
projects to be funded during the next fiscal year, the Capital Investment Strategy discusses the goals and longer-term strategy behind those project
choices.
The statewide transportation improvement program (or "STIP") is required by federal law. Although a four-year constrained plan is required by federal
law, the New Jersey Department of Transportation and New Jersey Transit are, for the first time, allocating funding over a ten-year period and
constraining the plan to what are reasonable revenue expectations. Like the transportation capital program, the STIP includes both state and federal
funding and includes projects and programs of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the New Jersey Transit Corporation, and the counties and
municipalities. The STIP is compiled from three regional transportation improvement programs ("TIPs"), which are developed in conjunction with New
Jersey's three metropolitan planning organizations ("MPOs"). Each MPO has extensive public involvement activities in preparation for the TIP. The
current document is the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) for the State of New
Jersey for Fiscal Years 2009 through 2018.
The effort to develop a long-term, fiscally disciplined capital program, is requiring that difficult decisions be made as to what projects are funded
in the ten-year plan. Those projects that are not funded in the ten-year plan are classified as Tier 2 projects. Availability of additional state or
federal funds could allow them to be funded in the future. A further refinement of the ten-year capital program could also lead to greater flexibility
and accommodation of more projects.
The FY 2009- 2018 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) is an expansion of the Proposed FY 2009 Capital Program that was submitted
to the State Legislature on March 31, 2008. The Draft STIP was subject to a 30 day public comment period and final negotiations with the (3)
Metropolitan Planning Organizations, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Federal Transit Administration. Any changes that may occur due to
these negotiations will become part of the final federally-approved STIP document released after October 1, 2008.
New Jersey's three MPOs are:
North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (for Bergen, Essex,
Hudson, Hunterdon, Monmouth, Morris, Middlesex, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset,
Sussex, Union, and Warren counties).
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (for Burlington, Camden,
Gloucester, and Mercer counties)
SJTPO
- South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization. The MPO covering
the counties of Cape May, Atlantic, Cumberland, and Salem.
|
