Regional Transportation Improvement Program
As the Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA) for Nevada County, the Nevada County Transportation Commission (NCTC) is required to prepare a RTIP every two years. The purpose of the RTIP is to identify the priority regional project funding recommendations for NCTC’s formula share of Regional Improvement Program funding. The RTIP is required to be submitted to the California Transportation Commission (CTC) by December 15, 2023, for inclusion in the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).
The STIP is comprised of two funding programs, the Regional Improvement Program (RIP) includes funding for projects nominated by regional agencies such as NCTC, and the Interregional Improvement Program (IIP) includes funding for projects nominated by Caltrans for improvement projects on the interregional system outside of urban areas. The RIP is funded from 75% of “new” STIP funding and the IIP is funded from 25% of “new” STIP funding. The 75% regional program is further subdivided by formula into County Shares. County Shares are available solely for projects nominated by regions in their RTIPs.
The RTIP outlines the plan for programming RIP and IIP dollars for local transportation projects over the next five fiscal years beginning with Fiscal Year (FY) 2023/24 through FY 2027/28. Funding recommendations for the STIP will ultimately be considered for adoption by the CTC. When the CTC adopts projects from the regional programs into the STIP, a schedule and commitment to the proposed funding is established and these projects are considered “programmed.” A project must be programmed into the STIP to receive funding from the CTC.
NCTC’s Regional Improvement Program Formula Funding Share:
As shown in the attached Table 2 – Summary of Targets and Shares, NCTC has a total of $5,431,000 available through FY 2028/29 to program in the 2024 STIP.
STIP PPM:
During each STIP cycle, each RTPA may utilize up to 5% of its RIP funds for Planning, Programming, and Monitoring (PPM) activities. Utilizing PPM funds reduces the need for NCTC to use Local Transportation Funds (LTF) for planning activities approved in the annual Overall Work Program (OWP), and the net result is there is more LTF available for local jurisdictions.
As shown in the attached Table 6 – Planning, Programming, and Monitoring (PPM) Limitations, NCTC has a total of $412,000 of PPM available in the 2024 STIP for planning, programming, and monitoring activities. Table 6 shows $334,000 available for Fiscal Years 2024-25 through 2027-28 plus $78,000 for Fiscal Year 2028-29.
RTIP Recommendation Summary:
Program $4,385,000 of available RIP funding for Phase 2 of the SR 49 Corridor Improvement Project. This funding amount will be recommended for programming in FY 2024/25 as follows: Construction Support $2,800,000 and Construction Capital $1,585,000.
In consideration of ongoing planning activities and the need to prepare the next update of the Nevada County Regional Transportation Plan in Fiscal Year 2026/27, staff recommends programming PPM funds as shown below in the 2024 RTIP:
FY 2024/25 | FY 2025/26 | FY 2026/27 | FY 2027/28 | FY 2028/29 | Total |
$65,000 | $65,000 | $100,000 | $65,000 | $65,000 | $360,000 |
The recommended RTIP programming for PPM funding and RIP funding for the Phase 2 Construction of the SR 49 Corridor Improvement Project will leave NCTC $686,000 of RIP funds to be carried forward into future STIP cycles.