2023 HATS Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)

The Harrisburg Area Transportation Study or  HATS , was created as a result of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1962, which mandated regional planning as a condition of receiving federal funds for transportation projects. To this day, the planning must be supported through a continuing, comprehensive, coordinated (3C) process.

HATS is a designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), an organization of federal, state and local agencies, as well as officials from Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry Counties, the City of Harrisburg and Capital Area Transit.

In this role, HATS develops a Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), which documents the current status of transportation projects and programs, identifies long-term needs and recommends projects to meet those needs. The long-range RTP sets a framework and priorities for the expenditure of federal transportation funds over a 25-year period.

HATS serves 103 municipalities in all, covering almost 1,700 square miles in South-Central Pennsylvania, including Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry Counties.

 PennDOT  oversees programs and policies affecting highways, urban and rural public transportation, airports, railroads, ports, and waterways. More than three-quarters of PennDOT's annual budget is invested in Pennsylvania's approximately 120,000 miles of state and local highways and 32,000 state and local bridges. PennDOT is directly responsible for nearly 40,000 miles of highway and roughly 25,400 bridges, a system first established in 1911. PennDOT collects the TIP data and displays it through an online resource,  OneMap .

The Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is a comprehensive listing of all federal and state-funded transportation improvement projects in the HATS area over the next four years. The 2023-2026 TIP is planned to be adopted by the Harrisburg Area Transportation Study in June 2022 and will go into effect at the beginning of the Federal Fiscal Year in October 2022.

The goal of the TIP update process is to select transportation improvements with the greatest benefit to the region, counties, and individual municipalities. Above all else, preservation and management of the existing transportation system is the highest priority for both HATS and PennDOT. Nearly all projects proposed for the 2023 TIP are dedicated to preserving the system or improving its safety, reliability, traffic flow, or security. The only exceptions to this are those projects proposing to construct non-motorized alternatives to the current system.

It is important to note that the TIP is not a final schedule for projects to be implemented. Because of unforeseen occurrences or financial constraints, it is only possible to have a best estimate of project implementation. If a project is not completed, it will most likely be on the next TIP.

In order for a project to be approved for the TIP, it must go through a few levels of approval, starting at the local municipality and reaching HATS and PennDOT. First, a particular transportation need is identified. Once that happens, it is presented to HATS for approval.

New projects are selected for the TIP after all funds needed for phases of current projects are accounted for. Maintenance projects for highways and bridges are proposed by PennDOT. Other projects are selected from the HATS RTP, which prioritizes regional transportation projects and problems on a rolling basis in accordance with the planning factors defined in federal transportation regulation. All projects are given a regional priority ranking (high/medium/low) that reflects the project’s ability to address a variety of regional needs. The HATS RTP Implementation Work Group, Technical and Coordinating Committees also provide input into project selection. 

Funds for the TIP come from both state and federal programs and grants. The federal programs include the National Highway Performance Program (NHPP), Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STP), Surface Transportation Block Grant Program - Urban (STU), Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ), National Highway Freight Program (NFP), Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, Railway-Highway Crossings, and various highway and bridge funding.

The success of transportation projects relies on collaboration, communication, and public participation. After all, these projects are designed to improve road quality, congestion, and environmental resources for everyone's benefit!

Each new TIP implementation year, TCRPC holds a public review period which is scheduled for a minimum of 30 days prior to the adoption date. The public comment period for the 2023-2026 TIP is May 2nd to June 2nd, 2022.

A display table at the Strawberry Square Atrium - 320 Market Street, Harrisburg - is scheduled for Wednesday, May 11, 2022 from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm to allow for additional comment opportunities.

Two public informational sessions will also be held in person at Tri-County Regional Planning Commission's Office - 112 Market Street, 2nd Floor, or virtually via zoom. To register for the virtual meetings, please visit the TCRPC Calendar at www.tcrpc-pa.org/calendar/. To join by telephone only, call 717-234-2639 (or email planning@tcrpc-pa.org) at least two days prior to the meeting and leave a message on how to contact you with meeting access information. The meeting times and dates are as follows:

• Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at 12:00 - 1:00 pm
• Thursday, May 19, 2022 at 6:00 - 7:00 pm

In addition to TCRPC, PennDOT also provides program updates, data, and information on public participation activities on their  website .

Once a project is on the TIP, the implementation phase begins. The designated lead agency is responsible for ensuring that its project moves forward. Highway projects typically proceed in phases (preliminary engineering, final design, right-of-way acquisition, construction). Each phase is included in the TIP, showing funding and anticipated schedule. Transit projects are programmed in the TIP according to the annual grant application cycle.

There are a total of 153 projects which comprise of bike/pedestrian, bridge, intermodal, interstate, safety, and roadway activities.

Click and drag on the maps below to view the projects. Use the + and -- symbols in the bottom right corner to zoom in and out.

Do you know of a transportation need? Fill out the form below to submit a need for the next round of TIP development.