Rural Transportation Planning

Rural Transportation
Planning

Rural Transportation Planning Services are also provided through this division. Our staff provides support services for the Lumber River Rural Transportation Planning Organization (RPO). Work includes assistance to local governments and citizens in partnership with the NC Department of Transportation efforts in the LRCOG region.

Lumber River RPO

Since 2002, the Lumber River Rural Transportation Planning Organization (RPO) has been working cooperatively with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to enhance transportation planning opportunities in Richmond and Scotland Counties and rural portions of Hoke and Robeson Counties (see map below). The eighteen RPOs across North Carolina are voluntary associations of local elected officials and citizens working in partnership with NCDOT. This structure provides local officials in rural areas of the State with a formal framework to participate in statewide and regional transportation planning processes.

The Major Duties and Responsibilities of the Lumber River RPO are:

Developing long-range transportation plans for the region in cooperation with local governments and NCDOT
Developing and prioritizing projects for inclusion in the State Transportation Improvement Program*
Providing transportation related information and data to local governments, citizens, and other interested parties
Providing a forum for public involvement in the rural transportation planning process

These responsibilities and related projects and tasks are accomplished through the work of the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) and the Transportation Coordinating Committee (TCC). The LRCOG is the Lead Planning Agency for the RPO, providing staff support from the Local Government Services Division.

Transportation Committees

Transportation Advisory Committee

The Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) is the governing policy board for the Lumber River RPO. The TAC provides policy direction for the planning process, facilitates communication and coordination among the member jurisdictions, and guides the development of a comprehensive multi-modal transportation program. Its membership includes local elected officials and the area's representative on the NCDOT Board of Transportation. The TAC meets the fourth Monday of odd numbered months at 12 o'clock noon. The meetings are usually held at the LRCOG offices.

Transportation Coordinating Committee

The Transportation Coordinating Committee's (TCC) role is to support and advise the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) in carrying out the four core responsibilities of the RPO by providing technical assistance and recommendations to the TAC. The TCC is comprised of staff from member local governments and the NCDOT, as well as local citizens and members of other local agencies interested in the transportation planning process. The TCC meets on the second Tuesday of odd numbered months at 10:30am. The meetings are usually held at the LRCOG Offices.

*PROJECT PRIORTIZATION PROCESS INFORMATION

The Lumber River RPO (LRRPO), along with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), continually goes through the process to identify and prioritize transportation projects for inclusion in the state’s next Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).

This website page has been established to serve as a resource and repository of information on this project prioritization and funding process within the LRRPO region. As information becomes available throughout this process, it will be added to this site to make the information widely available to the public. If you have any questions about the information on this site, please contact Janet Robertson at 910-775-9749 or jfr@lrcog.org.

We welcome your comments and feedback on the prioritization of transportation projects. Please feel free to attend any of our meetings, which are all open to the public, or to write/call us. We have a time for public comment at the beginning of each TCC and TAC meeting. You may reach RPO staff by email at jfr@lrcog.org or by phone at (910) 775-9749. You may also send written correspondence to: Lumber River Council of Governments, Attn. Janet Robertson, 30 C.J. Walker Rd, COMtech Park, Pembroke, NC, 28372.

Strategic Transportation Investments Law (STI)

In 2013, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted House Bill 817, the Strategic Transportation Investments (STI) law, which represents a fundamental change in the way transportation projects are prioritized and funded in North Carolina. For more information on STI, please visit the NCDOT’s STI website:

https://www.ncdot.gov/initiatives-policies/Transportation/stip/Pages/strategic-transportation-investments.aspx

For the list of the final Local Input Points assignment for projects prioritized by the LRRPO in the last prioritization process (known as P5.0), please click here for Regional impact projects, here for Division Needs projects. For information on the current statewide 2020-29 STIP (developed through the P5.0 process) please go to this website:

https://www.ncdot.gov/initiatives-policies/Transportation/stip/Pages/default.aspx

lumber river RPO
methodology to prioritize projects

As part of the STI prioritization process, RPOs have an opportunity to assign “local prioritization points” to projects in their regions. In 2012, the General Assembly enacted Session Law 2012-84, which requires RPOs to have a documented data-driven process for assigning these local input points.

The Methodology used by LRPO in P5.0 can be found here.

P6.0 Prioritization Process Halted

*** IMPORTANT NOTICE! *** In August 2021, NCDOT announced the suspension of the Prioritization 6.0 process. Click here to see the announcement memo from NCDOT. As a result, LRPO will not be assigning local input points to projects in this round.

The 2024-2033 STIP will be a subset of existing projects in the current 2020-2029 STIP. The P6.0 process will not be used in the development of the 2024-33 STIP.

Draft 2024-33 STIP

The Draft 2024-33 STIP was released April 25, 2022 and a revised Draft was released August 4, 2022. To view the entire Draft STIP and information on how it was developed, please click here.

For a list of Lumber River RPO projects affected by the Draft STIP, please click here. For a spreadsheet of all Lumber River RPO projects in the Draft STIP, please click here.

The public comment period ended - October 28, 2022. NCDOT reviewed and addressed public comments as well as input from the RPOs and MPOs and developed the Final Draft 2024-2033 STIP. The Board of Transportation is expected to approve the Final 2024-2033 STIP in Summer 2023.

PRIORITIZATION PROCESS 7.0 FOR NEXT STIP

The SPOT Workgroup started preparation for the next prioritization process for the 2026-2035 STIP last fall. Please click HERE for the P7 Schedule.

The period for submitting projects to be considered in P7 will be open July 10, 2023 and run through September 29, 2023. The Lumber River RPO is allotted 23 project submittals in each transportation mode.

None of the projects submitted in P6 will be funded in the Final 2024-2033 STIP. In order to be considered in P7, projects that were submitted in P6 must be resubmitted. Please click HERE for the list of projects submitted in P6 (both new and resubmitted projects).

There will be a meeting in each RPO county for the public and jurisdictions to propose projects. Please click HERE for the schedule of County meetings.

Project proposals may also be submitted by email at jfr@lrcog.org or by mail at Lumber River Council of Governments, Attn. Janet Robertson, 30 C.J. Walker Rd, COMtech Park, Pembroke, NC, 28372. Project proposals must be received by June 14, 2023.

Lumber River Council of Governments
Region N (Located in Pembroke, NC )