1. Screen: Minimum requirements were established that each project was required to meet. These "screening" criteria insured that every project considered for programming was consistent with New Visions and local land use plans, had a funding plan, could be constructed by September 30, 2004, and was eligible for federal funds.

 

2. Evaluate Merit: A project must have passed screen in order to proceed to merit evaluation. The merits of every project passing screen are fairly evaluated and summarized on a one-page fact sheet. A blank fact sheet is included for reference on page *. The merit evaluation procedure used the best available information from CDTC's models, from corridor studies, and from the project sponsor.

 

3. Choose Projects: A "balanced" Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) contributes to a staged regional plan for maintenance of essential facilities and services, demand management and capacity improvements. Before considering new projects, the balance of the TIP's existing commitments is examined, from a variety of perspectives -- project sponsor, geographic, and by project type. Then, programming capacity is assigned to projects based primarily on quantified merit, insuring the best candidates programming status. This is done by project category; setting programming targets based on knowledge of the existing program balance. After public review, CDTC adopts a final program that allocates all estimated available revenues to specific projects.

The project selection process for new projects is detailed in Appendix G and the merit evaluation procedure is detailed in Appendix I. Application of this procedure to the 1999-04 TIP update starts *.