Transportation 2035 - State of Rhode Island: Division of Planning

December 2012PART THREE - TRANSPORTATION FINANCINGFINANCINGThe Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) required Long Range Plans to have:A financial plan that demonstrates how the adopted statewide transportation plan can be implemented, indicates resources from publicand private sources that are reasonably expected to be made available to carry out the plan, and recommends any additional financingstrategies for needed projects and programs. The financial plan may include, for illustrative purposes, additional projects that would beincluded in the adopted statewide transportation plan if reasonable additional resources beyond those identified in the financial planwere available.Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21 st Century (MAP-21), which was signed into law on July 6, 2012, shifts the perspective of the Long Range Plan towardperformance-based planning. The specific requirements for Long Range Plans have not yet been developed or promulgated. Regulations regardingperformance-based measures for states will be issued no later than eighteen (18) months after the enactment of the authorization (by December 2013), andstates must develop performance-based plans within twelve (12) months of the adoption of these finalized regulations (by December 2014). There are anumber of unanswered questions regarding the details of the new planning requirements. These questions are likely to be resolved over the next two to threeyears, at which time a new Long Range Plan for Rhode Island will need to take shape.Whether or not it is necessary to meet federal requirements, a financial plan is crucial from the State’s perspective. If projects are over programmed, publicexpectations are raised to a level that cannot possibly be met. In order to prepare an effective and rationally-constrained financial plan, the State needs toknow the level of federal funding likely to be available over the long term. This information is important, not only to anticipate the level of match requirementthat must be made available from State and other sources, but also to appropriately program projects according to total resources available in any given year.MAP-21 is a two-year authorization: while a two-year authorization is certainly preferable to continued short-term (3 and 6 month) extensions under SAFETEA-LU, there is still a great deal of uncertainty about long-term funding and policy initiatives.The financial analysis requirements for the Long Range Plan have not been as stringent as those required and implemented in the Transportation ImprovementProgram (TIP). A financial constraint analysis, which considers cost estimates for individual projects by funding category, is required in the TIP. Although thistype of analysis is possible in the short term, the Long Range Plan views transportation infrastructure over the long term (20 years). Beyond the four yearhorizon of the TIP/STIP and the five year horizon of the State Capital Budget process, individual projects may not have been selected and broad-brushassumptions concerning availability of federal funds must be made.Transportation 2035 (2012 Update)State Guide Plan Element 611Rhode Island Statewide Planning ProgramPage 3-1