News and Information from March 2023

A Message from the Executive Director

I think most folks are now ready for the weather to make that spring turn toward shorter sleeves and nicer days. The warmer weather will also mean we are approaching the final quarter of our SEMPO fiscal year. We still have three planning projects we are working on wrapping up prior to the close of our FY23 budget year. The first is our Public Transit - Human Services Transportation Coordination Plan (PT-HSTCP). We just recently completed a draft of the plan which we will be sharing with the Technical Planning Committee (TPC) in April for review and comment. Our next project is the 2024 - 2027 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), a plan which  includes all regionally significant projects receiving FHWA or FTA funds, or for which FHWA or FTA approval is required, and any non-federally funded projects that are consistent with the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP). In collaboration with our SEMPO member entities and state Department of Transportation (DOT) partners, we should have a draft ready for review within the next couple of months. Our final project, is of course, our FY 2024 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP). I am happy to report we will be reviewing the draft UPWP in April for consideration of adoption by the Board in May. It's a little hard to believe this planning year is coming to a close. But as you may see in the rest of this letter, we have a lot of to look forward to with our next fiscal year!

SEMPO SS4A Grant Agreement Taking Shape

Houston, we have a draft. SEMPO's Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant award to assist in the development of a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan now has an agreement in draft form. SEMPO staff is working with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in finalizing the draft agreement, which includes components such as performance measures and outcome reporting requirements, is close to completion. The current timeline is to begin the planning initiative with the commencement of our 2024 Fiscal Year (July 1, 2023). It is anticipated that the development of the plan will take at least 12 months to complete. Fortunately, FHWA has allowed awardees to extend their grant agreement Period of Performance out 12 - 24 months. So currently, our draft agreement includes a Period of Performance from July 1, 2023 to March 31, 2025. The additional several months past the anticipated 12 months for the plan development will allow for robust community engagement and feedback as well as unforeseen delays.

But, this is a new process for all involved, so the draft remains subject to change until it is executed. 

A New Planning Year is Fast Approaching

SEMPO's draft fiscal year work plan for FY 2024 will be released for public comment in April. Here is the current draft list of planning projects which will be reviewed as potential work elements for the upcoming fiscal year:

• Comprehensive Safety Action Plan
• SEMPO Region Trail Connection Study 
• Intersection Studies  
• Origin and Destination Study Research & Analytics Tool Investment 
• Geographic Information System (GIS) Audit 
• Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Web Development Tool Assessment 

For a description of the highlighted projects as well as a list of additional planning projects contemplated by SEMPO members click the button below.

United Way Transportation Coalition

In late 2021, United Way conducted research to help guide the Community Investment Committee as they identified funding needs for the United Way of Southeast Missouri (UWSEMO)  2022-2025 funding cycle. Among employers, employees, and the many people served by their network, transportation was identified as a barrier to all three of United Way’s focus areas – education, health, and income stability. Based on these findings, UWSEMO formed the Transportation Coalition in August of 2022 and reached out to community leaders, industry experts, and social service agencies to join the initiative in addressing the transportation needs of our region. SEMPO has been a contributing member of the Transportation Coalition since its inception and has partnered in the community outreach efforts to gain a better understanding of the challenges and obstacles to increased public transportation use and access within our planning area. The feedback received has also been compiled to assist in the development of the MPO's Public Transit - Human Services Transportation Coordination Plan. In November of 2022, UWSEMO issued a survey to learn more about how our community uses transportation, what causes transportation to be a challenge, and how our Coalition can work collectively to make improvements.

To view the results of the survey and to learn more about the Transportation Coalition of UWSEMO, click the buttons below. 

Off-System Bridge Replacement Program (BRO) - Call for Projects

A call for projects is anticipated to take place May 1st, 2023 for MoDOT's Off-System Bridge Replacement (BRO) Program for 2025 funding. Please use the links in the buttons below to stay apprised as to the program development and future anticipated milestones.

Historically, the off-system bridge (BRO) program was managed by distributing federal funds to counties to be used at their discretion on eligible bridges. This created unspent balances across the state. In addition to existing unspent balances, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law introduced new funding for off-system bridges. To reduce these balances and to better manage the program, the distribution of the funds for the BRO program was changed to a regional (MoDOT Districts) distribution using the total deck area of poor bridges in the region. 2022 applications were filled out and submitted to Regional Bridge Committees, who selected bridges to award. Selections were reviewed by a Statewide Bridge Committee and awards announced.  Through the first call for projects, 316 applications were received for 2022-2024 funding and 145 were selected. This averages to 48 bridges per year as compared to 20-30 per year in past years. If your community has eligible bridges in need of future investment, please review the information included in the links below. 

Policy Alert: FTA Metropolitan Planning Program 

On March 23, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) published guidance in the form of a Dear Colleague Letter to inform recipients about increased Federal support for certain planning activities under the Metropolitan Planning Program (MPP) and the State Planning and Research Program (SPRP). The expanded support for planning activities -- at least 90 percent and up to 100 percent -- is intended to increase mobility through expanded access to public transportation in urbanized or rural areas with a lower population density or a lower average income than surrounding areas.

Eligible activities under MPP and SPRP grants include:
•    Development of transportation plans and programs 
•    Planning, engineering, designing, and evaluation of a public transportation project
•    Technical studies relating to public transportation planning.

FHWA Announces $2.5 Billion for CFI Grant Program

The Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program (CFI Program) is a new competitive grant program established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to strategically deploy publicly accessible electric vehicle charging and alternative fueling infrastructure in the places people live and work – urban and rural areas alike – in addition to along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFCs). The CFI Program is structured with two categories of funding: a Community Grant Program and a Corridor Grant Program.

The Community Grant Program offers a minimum project award of $500,000 and a maximum award of $15 million. The program allows for both local communities and MPO's to participate with a goal of proliferating EV charging infrastructure by focusing on locations in need of additional electric vehicle charging, hydrogen fueling, propane, or natural gas fueling infrastructure.

The Corridor Grant Program must be awarded to a project that contracts with a private entity for acquisition and installation, or operation of eligible infrastructure along a designated Alternative Fuel Corridor (AFC) with a minimum award size of $1 million. Within the SEMPO planning area, only I-55 currently satisfies this designation criteria. Electric charging infrastructure cannot be installed greater than 1 mile from interstate exits along the corridor.  Hydrogen, propane, or natural gas fueling infrastructure cannot be greater than 5 miles from interstate exits.

2023 Meeting Schedule

I don't know if everyone knows this, but all SEMPO meetings are open to the public and we encourage anyone interested to come join us! The SEMPO Board meets every third Wednesday of the month at 2:00 pm and the Technical Planning Committee meets every first Wednesday of the month at 11:00 am. Meetings are normally held at the Osage Centre, 1625 N Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, unless otherwise noted.

Roadway Fatalities Update

The beginning months of 2023 has continued to deviate from the devastating trend of increased fatalities on our roadways from year-to-year. The Southeast District has experienced 22 fatalities on the roadways in 2023 as of March 26. This number is lower than the 30 fatalities which occurred in 2022 at this time. Statewide, we have experienced 145 fatalities, which represents a 25.26% reduction in fatalities than experienced in 2022 where 194 fatalities were recorded, 2021 (177 fatalities) or 18.08% reduction, 2020 (173 fatalities) or 16.18% reduction, 2019 (156 fatalities) or 7.05% reduction, and 2018 (183 fatalities) or 20.77% reduction at this point in the year. Of these statewide fatalities, 61% of the occupants were not buckled.

Grants Corner Recap

Now is the time to be extra diligent in tracking grant funding opportunities given the current volume of programs available. Below are some helpful links to monitor some of the active and upcoming grant programs. 

SEMPO Trivia

Who was the first US President to fly in a jet specifically built for presidential use — a modified Boeing 707.

a. Harry S. Truman    
b. Dwight D. Eisenhower    
c. John F. Kennedy    
d. Lyndon B. Johnson
e. Richard M. Nixon    
f. Gerald Ford    

Road Rules: Origin Story

Designated sides of the road and fixed speed limits? Watch how the rules of the road began to change as the automobile was introduced into everyday life. 

Transportation Quote

“The race is to the driven, not the swift.” 

—John Jakes (writer)