How Are Projects Funded?

Among the funding sources for transportation projects is federal support provided through the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21) for infrastructure renewal and network expansion. State and local resources also support transportation system projects in the NYMTC region. Local funds are provided by Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York State Thruway Authority and Port Authority of New York/New Jersey as well as local counties and municipalities. Also, resources other than federal, state and local have been used to fund transportation projects in the past and can be expected to do so in the future. An example is the use of bridge and tunnel toll revenue to support the sale of bonds for financing transportation projects.

The federal government funds only those projects that are identified on the region’s five-year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) or in the 20-year Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). The TIP is consistent with the Plan and is fiscally constrained with reasonable estimates of project costs balanced against anticipated funding. The TIP is a multimodal program of bridge, bikeway, pedestrian, transit, highway, safety and demand management projects.

NYMTC’s adoption of the TIP assures Federal officials that NYMTC’s members have agreed on priorities for the region. Additionally, NYMTC issues a Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) which lists all of the studies and transportation and air quality planning activities that will be undertaken by the NYMTC staff, member agencies and regional transportation planning agencies in the coming year.