Public invited to comment on 4-year program of WSDOT projects

OLYMPIA – Comments are now being accepted on a proposed four-year program of multimodal improvement projects to the state and local transportation system.

The Washington State Department of Transportation is asking for public review and comment on the draft 2019-2022 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). More than 1,500 statewide transportation improvement projects using $3.9 billion in federal funds are included in the 2019-22 STIP. Comments will be accepted through Thursday, Dec. 20.
The program’s 2019-22 projects, available online, are compiled from local transportation programs, metropolitan and regional transportation improvement programs (TIPs) and have been identified through state, metropolitan, regional, tribal and local planning processes. These are the highest priority for the available funding to preserve and improve the state's transportation network.

About the STIP
The STIP is a four-year, fiscally constrained, prioritized multimodal transportation program of state, local, tribal, and public transportation (transit) projects. The STIP includes highways, streets, roads, railroads, transit-hubs, park-and-ride lots, bridges, sidewalks, bike lanes, ferry terminals, trails and safety projects funded with federal, state, tribal and local revenue sources. Federally funded projects must be included in the STIP before Federal Highway Administration or Federal Transit Administration can authorize the expenditure of federal funds.

The STIP is developed annually by WSDOT in coordination with statewide metropolitan and rural transportation planning organizations. This collaborative effort ensures projects are consistent with local, regional and state long-range plans. Several projects may carry over as they move from design, to permitting and, finally, to construction. Some county projects are not included in the draft STIP because state law requires counties to complete their transportation programs by the end of the year; those projects are amended into the final STIP in January.

The current 2018-21 STIP can be viewed online and a similar, searchable database of the 2019-22 STIP will be created in early 2019, following FHWA and FTA approval.

How to comment
The public comment period for the draft STIP is Wednesday, Nov. 21, to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 20. Written comments can be sent to: Nancy Huntley, WSDOT, P.O. Box 47390, Olympia, WA 98504-7390, email: Huntlen@wsdot.wa.gov, or by fax at 360-705-6822.

The comment period is the final step of the community engagement process that began locally. Comments received will be sent to the local or regional planning organization for their consideration.