How would you spend it if you had hundreds of millions of dollars to spend on local transportation projects in the next several years? Those decisions are what SRTC is tasked with every year, and what goes into developing the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).
SRTC has just completed developing the 2019-2022 TIP and now we’re looking for input on it. The TIP is a document of transportation projects and programs that jurisdictions within Spokane County plan to build or implement during the upcoming four years. All projects receiving federal funds are required to be included in it.
The TIP is updated with new projects annually and made available to members of the public for review and comment. It includes project names and descriptions, jurisdictions sponsoring them, funding attached to each project, and where the funding came from (local, state or federal). The 2019-2022 TIP contains:
- Ninety-eight projects; seven of them new to the TIP this year;
- A total of $818,439,707 in local transportation investments to be spent in the upcoming four years.
Projects in the TIP vary widely, from those that maintain and preserve existing roads to construction of new facilities like the North Spokane Corridor, and projects that encourage economic development. There are also bridge replacement projects, public transit improvements and new bicycle and pedestrian facilities included in the document.
The draft 2019-2022 TIP can be viewed at https://www.srtc.org/transportation-improvement-program/.
To see how projects will be distributed throughout Spokane County, click the Transportation Improvement Program interactive map on that page. You can zoom in to see what projects are planned for your neighborhood or commute route, as well as read project descriptions, costs and more.
A public open house on Wednesday, September 19 from 4-6 p.m. will provide opportunity to review the TIP and ask questions. The open house is at the STA Plaza, 701 W. Riverside Ave. in the second-floor rotunda. Staff from SRTC, Spokane Transit, the Washington State Department of Transportation and other local jurisdictions will be on hand to answer questions.
Those who can’t attend can still share their thoughts on the Transportation Improvement Program. A public comment period runs from Friday, August 31 through Sunday, September 30, 2018. Comments can be posted here, emailed to contact.srtc@srtc.org, mailed to SRTC at 421 W. Riverside, Suite 500, Spokane, WA 99201 or phoned in to (509) 343-6370.