CMPDD serves as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Jackson Urbanized Area that covers most of Hinds, Madison, and Rankin Counties. The MPO receives a formula allocation of Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to construct a variety of transportation improvements in the Jackson Urbanized Area. With the approval of a new transportation bill last year, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), the MPO has been laying the groundwork toward selecting new projects in the area.
On February 13, 2013, the MPO approved the distribution formula for STP funds into three (3) categories, plus a 3% set-aside for smaller municipalities (3,500 persons or smaller) for the Jackson Urbanized Area. The MPO voted to allocate the funds as follows.
• $16,725,000 to traffic capacity deficiency projects (widening and new alignments)
• $1,115,000 to traffic operational improvements (traffic signals and turn lanes)
• $3,791,000 to pavement management projects; and
• $669,000 for small municipalities (3,500 population or less)
At the upcoming May 8th MPO Policy Committee meeting, MPO staff will present proposed amendments to the Prospectus, which will include the criteria for selecting projects for STP funding and set a deadline for accepting project applications. The project applications will then be reviewed and ranked based upon the approved criteria and presented to the MPO at the August, 2013 meeting for approval.
