Background/Analysis/Issues:

Staff will be presenting the Draft DVRPC FFY2026 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for New Jersey (FFY26-FFY29) and Recommended Changes as the region's official selection of transportation projects for federal funding, as well as the associated resolution for adoption by the DVRPC Board. 

A Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is required by federal law and planning regulations for the metropolitan region to be eligible to receive and spend federal transportation funds. The TIP is required to cover a minimum of four federal fiscal years (FFY) of programming and must be consistent with the Long-Range Plan. DVRPC TIP documents for both New Jersey and Pennsylvania cover a longer planning and programming horizon (10 years for NJ; 12 years for PA) to better understand expected resources and provide the region with a more realistic timeframe for advancement of TIP projects, as well as more realistic project costs. The creation of the TIP is to be done by the MPO in cooperation with the state(s) and transit operators and must provide opportunity for input and comment by the public. A 30-day comment period must be conducted prior to a formal action to adopt the TIP. DVRPC undertakes a major TIP Update every year for either the Pennsylvania subregion, or the New Jersey subregion; at this time, the PA and NJ TIPs are updated on alternating years.

Work began in the fall of 2024 on the development of the FFY2026 TIP for New Jersey. DVRPC has worked with its federal, state and local partners in New Jersey to develop a draft TIP that meets the requirements of federal laws and regulations, including those concerning financial constraint, air quality, and plan consistency. While the federal requirement is for a four-year constrained program, the DVRPC New Jersey TIP provides a detailed 10-year programming horizon for both the highway and transit programs to more effectively inform how the region’s financial resources might be used, and to provide a “reality check” regarding how and when the region can deliver the many major projects that are currently planned and underway.

The Draft DVRPC FFY2026 TIP for New Jersey contains 155 projects to advance over the First-Four Years (FFY26-FFY29): 98 FHWA-funded projects in the DVRPC regional Highway Program and 57 FTA-funded projects (37 by NJ TRANSIT and 20 by the DRPA/PATCO) in the DVRPC regional Transit Program. The programmed amount for these projects over the next four years totals $2.299 billion, which averages almost $575 million per year. Programmed funds include almost $1.299 billion FHWA-funded projects and nearly $1 billion for FTA-funded projects for NJ TRANSIT (about $886 million) and DRPA/PATCO ($114 million) transit systems. For information purposes only, the TIP lists 108 NJDOT-managed statewide highway programs for the State of New Jersey that are worth $5.3 billion (primarily state-funded) over the first four years. 

The projects in the Draft TIP represent a consensus of the regional improvements to be made. The TIP has been fiscally constrained to the available financial resources identified by NJDOT as negotiated for this region’s projects. All non-exempt projects have been included in the regional conformity analysis for air quality.

Public Involvement:

The Draft TIP document was made available for public review during a 30+ day period which ran from July 18, 2025 to August 20, 2025 at 5:00 PM. Legal notices explaining the public comment process were published in the following newspapers: the Philadelphia Inquirer, El Inquirer, Impacto, Courier Post, Trenton Times, Philadelphia Tribune, South Jersey Times, and Burlington County Times. The public comment period was promoted on DVRPC's homepage www.dvrpc.org. An email notice was also sent to over 2,500 individuals, organizations, and DVRPC affiliated groups. In addition, DVRPC utilized social media outlets (Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn) to highlight the Draft TIP and promote the public comment period. The public comment period was also included in DVRPC's monthly newsletter, which goes to over 13,500 individuals. All TIP-related documents were published on the Internet; and hardcopies were mailed to major public libraries throughout the DVRPC New Jersey subregion. 

One (1) in-person public meeting was held on Tuesday, August 5, 2025 at 6:00 PM local time at the Mulica Hill Public Library in Gloucester County, NJ, and one (1) hybrid (online and in-person) public meeting was held on Thursday, August 7, 2025 at 6:00 PM local time at the DVRPC offices in Philadelphia, to give the public the opportunity to verbally present comments and submit questions about the TIP process and projects. DVRPC planning partners and DVRPC staff were present at these meetings.

DVRPC’s website and online presence continue to play a vital part in public outreach efforts. The interactive web-based online commenting application at www.dvrpc.org/TIP/Draft was available for the public’s convenience to directly submit comments to DVRPC about the draft program or a particular project listed in the draft program. A dedicated email address, tip@dvrpc.org, was available for anyone who preferred to send their comments via email. The Draft TIP document and other supporting documents were published online. Such documents included information about date and sign-up instructions for the virtual and hybrid public meetings, general information about the TIP and how it was developed, and all the project listings and financial information.

Many of our partner agencies have contributed responses to comments that were received and DVRPC will make all responses available prior to the September 25, 2025, Board meeting, along with any recommended changes to the program based on those comments.

Conformity Finding:

DVRPC has worked closely with the Transportation Conformity Interagency Consultation Group (TCICG) to ensure that the region has addressed the set of regulations issued by US DOT and US EPA concerning the impact of the TIP. The regulations prescribe specific emissions analyses and procedures to be performed, which DVRPC has employed under the guidance of the TCICG. The final conformity rule promulgated by US EPA (40 CFR 51 and 93) requires that the TIP and the Plan must not cause new air quality violations, worsen existing violations, or delay timely attainment of federal standards. US DOT cannot fund, authorize, or otherwise approve transportation programs or projects unless it is determined that the TIP and the plan “conform” to the Clean Air Act requirements and other applicable state air quality goals as embodied in each of the state implementation plans.

DVRPC’s Draft conformity analysis of the Draft Update: Connections 2050 Plan for Greater Philadelphia long-range-plan, Draft FFY2026 TIP for New Jersey, and the FFY2025 TIP for Pennsylvania was available for public comment through September 5, 2025, and will be presented for adoption at the September 25, 2025, Board 

The Board adopts the Draft DVRPC FFY2026 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for New Jersey (FFY26-FFY29) and Recommended Changes as the region's official selection of transportation projects for federal funding, by passing the appropriate Resolution.