Statewide Transportation Improvement Program
After comments generated in the review period are considered, a finalized STIP amendment is prepared and forwarded to the FHWA and/or the FTA for review/approval.
With the new 2020-2025 STIP, the WVDOH has created “Groupable Buckets” which most projects will fall into. Projects with a phase cost larger than $10,000,000, Safety projects, new traffic signal projects, new lane additions, new roads or new bridges, expansion projects that add capacity and projects that affect air quality are considered not groupable. All other projects will be considered groupable under the new STIP/TIP operating guidelines. More information on the groupable bucket programs can be found in Appendix E.
Under groupable projects, an amendment is a major change in the approved STIP/Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). It is defined as follows:
Adding, deleting or moving across federal fiscal years a number of projects with a sum cost greater than 10% of the bucket size, which is found in Appendix E; or A major change of project scope, such as a change that is inconsistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation or will change the NEPA determination, or a change that affects the approved Air Quality conformity finding; examples include changing the number of through lanes, adding/deleting non-motorized facilities, changing mode (FTA – rolling stock or facility type), changing capital category (FTA), and may include changing termini which changes the project from groupable to not groupable; or Any change requiring a new regional air quality conformity finding which changes the project from groupable to not groupable; or A greater than $10,000,000 cost increase or cost decrease in a phase of a project listed in the current STIP/TIP which changes the project from groupable to not groupable.
For projects considered not groupable, an amendment is any major change in the approved STIP/Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). It is defined as follows:
Adding or deleting any safety project; or Adding or deleting any project that adds new traffic signals; or Adding or deleting any project that affects air quality; or Adding or deleting any project that changes traffic capacity of a road or bridge; or Adding or deleting any expansion project; or Adding or deleting any regionally significant, non-federal aid project; or Major change in scope of work or cost changes greater than $2,000,000.
Amendments may be made to the STIP/TIP at any time during the life of the STIP/TIP and require federal approval by FHWA and/or FTA. The amendment, when required, must be consistent with 23 CFR 450 including public involvement procedures, air quality conformity and fiscal constraint.
An administrative adjustment is a minor change in the approved STIP/TIP. Adjustments may be made to the STIP/TIP at any time during the life of the STIP/TIP and do not require federal approval, but will be submitted to FHWA and/or FTA for informational purposes. The administrative adjustment is to meet requirements of the 23 CFR 450 and is defined as follows:
A minor change in project description that does not change the Air Quality conformity finding in maintenance and nonattainment areas or change the project scope; or Shifting programmed funds between projects (i.e.,
funding sources and projects already identified in the STIP/TIP); or Moving programmed projects from year to year within an approved STIP/TIP, except those that cross Air Quality horizon years; or A cost change to a groupable project that is less than $10,000,000 and doesn’t change the groupable bucket size by more than 10%; or A change to a project that is considered groupable as long as the change does not make it not groupable.
The Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is a staged multi-year; multimodal program of all potential FHWA/FTA funded projects within a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) area. TIPs must go through a public involvement period and be approved by the MPO and Governor. Amendments to the TIP will require a corresponding amendment to the STIP*. The following links provide access to all eight MPO TIP websites:
*A TIP amendment shown on one of these websites will not be amended to the STIP immediately. It must go through the STIP public involvement process.
Last Updated: 03/29/2021