The Planning Process...

Idaho’s Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) is annually updated (see below) and provides for a fiscally sound, capital improvement plan for the state’s transportation program.

The STIP provides an integrated process for transportation planning and transportation project selection. Strategic and performance goals for pavement, bridge, congestion and safety guide project placement in the STIP.

Click here for a .pdf version of the Planning Process Flowchart

Each metropolitan planning organization (MPO) must decide which projects to include in their respective Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for inclusion in the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). These decisions are based on a variety of factors, including future travel demand, project life cycle costs, land use changes, economic growth, and environmental impacts.

MPOs and ITD must also be able to track these projects as they pass through various stages toward actual construction, with such stages including facility planning, engineering, and design; right-of-way acquisition; advertising; bid review; construction scheduling; and related phases of work. These stages typically occur over several years, and projects may be modified as they pass through each stage.

In addition, MPOs and ITD are required under Federal transportation planning regulations (SAFETEA-LU) to ensure increased participation by local officials and citizens in the transportation planning and decision making processes. All of these duties and functions requires the MPOs and ITD to use increasingly sophisticated data management, decision support, and information dissemination techniques. To do this, transportation officials need an information management system that is easy to use, can store and manipulate large amounts of data, and can present these data to decision makers and the public in a coherent and timely manner.