RPO Data Ranking Process
The RPO process is intended to be a consistent, transparent, and structured method for involving local officials and the public in TDOT’s transportation planning and decision-making process. The RPO’s are tasked to provide input to TDOT on which transportation projects should receive higher or lower priority. This consultation process takes place at least once annually during fall meetings of the RPOs in a public meeting. TDOT staff, typically the Regional Project Development Office, gives a presentation to RPO members on the status updates of current and future projects to provide information that can assist with their project prioritization. The prioritization process includes consideration of projects that are not funded for the next available phase in the process (Construction, Right of Way, or PE). Project ranking provides TDOT requested feedback from the local leaders of their local priorities. The RPO process (and MPO process, respectively) assists TDOT with gathering feedback.
RPO Technical Committee/Executive Board
The RPO Technical Committee and Executive Board jointly evaluates and ranks projects that do not yet have funding approved for the phases listed for each project, and makes recommendations to TDOT leadership. Each project will be scored individually based on regional connectivity, accessibility, economic development, and safety by TDOT’s OCT division. The projects will then be ranked according to the final scores and list presented to the Commissioner of TDOT for approval and in turn presentation to the Governor as part of the 3-Year plan to the General Assembly each Spring for adoption and funding.
Each RPO shall determine their prioritization process along with consultation with regional OCT staff utilizing opportunities for either online surveys or in-person voting methods.
In addition to the prioritization process, supplementary feedback from local jurisdictions is recommended. Local officials or other stakeholders can also provide feedback based on local need. This additional feedback will be documented by the RPO Coordinator and submitted along with the project lists. Project ranking activities generally occur during the Fall RPO meetings each year.
Project Weight
An important component of the project ranking process involves a criteria weight which influences the overall score of a project and its selection for improvement funding. As illustrated above in Figure 4, the project ranking process at the MTRPO level makes up 11.8 percent of the overall score with TDOT. Ranking by the region (in this case, Region 3 in its entirety), is also 11.8 percent of the total weight.
Each category of weight is further separated into smaller components and respective weight assigned: Traffic Operations (in dark blue) at 25.8% total; Multimodal/Functional Class (in red) at 4.2% total; Economic Development (in green) at 16.7% total; Roadway Safety (in purple) at 26.3% total; Region/RPO ranking (in light blue) at 23.6% total; and Environmental Impact (in orange) at 3.4% total.
2022 Project Ranking Results
Following the December 8th meeting, members of the Executive Board and the Technical Committee were given an opportunity to complete a survey for project ranking for the Proposed projects. See blank survey provided here:
2022 MTRPO Project Rankings--blank
As a priority responsibility for our planning organization, project ranking is a very important and necessary action to complete. After receiving survey responses, the following projects received their ranking to provide input to TDOT on which transportation projects should receive higher or lower priority. This ranking will be used to determine which projects from our RPO to go into the next TDOT three-year plan. These results have now been submitted to TDOT for further consideration.
Functional
Classification System
TDOT’s Project Hub for the Middle Tennessee RPO Committed and Proposed projects has been provided in the link below.
View Maps ➔ TDOT Project Ranking Hub--MTRPO
To review the Proposed projects, make sure the toggle switch for ‘Proposed’ is switched on [in Blue.] You can zoom in on the map for a closer review of each project location, as well as change basemap option for aerial view, topographic, hybrid, etc., which is to the right on the map. 