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 Wednesday 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.

Each NDOT Highway Division is hosting a week-long Drop-In meeting during normal business hours (8am-5pm) (View dates and locations (click here).

These sessions will serve as opportunities for people to review the funding and proposed schedules for projects in their area, ask questions of local NCDOT staff and submit comments.

The Drop-In meeting for Division 8 (Hoke, Richmond, and Scotland Counties) is September 19-23 at the NCDOT Division 8 Office at 121 DOT Drive, Carthage, NC, 28327. The Drop-in meeting period for Division 6 (Robeson County) is October 3-7 at the NCDOT Division 6 Office at 558 Gillespie Street, Fayetteville, 28301.

People who cannot attend a Drop-In meeting can also comment in the following ways:

Take an online survey on NCDOT’s public engagement website by October 28 at https://metroquestsurvey.com/ew73x
Submit comments online, by phone, or mail using the contact information associated with each county (click here)

Note: NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who want to participate. Anyone requiring special services can contact Simone Robinson at strobinson1@ncdot.gov or 919-707-6085 so that arrangements can be made.

Persons who do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request by calling 1-800-481-6494. Aquellas personas que no hablan inglés, o tienen limitaciones para leer, hablar o entender inglés, podrían recibir servicios de interpretación llamando al 1-800-481-6494.

Next Steps: Once the public comment period ends on October 28th, NCDOT will review and address public comments as well as input from the RPOs and MPOs. The Final Draft 2024-2033 STIP will then be developed and presented to the Board of Transportation. The Board of Transportation is expected to approve the Final 2024-2033 STIP in Summer 2023.

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