Dougherty Area Regional Transportation Study
A Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is a federally mandated and federally funded transportation policy making organization that is made up of representatives from local government and governmental transportation authorities. The Dougherty Area Regional Transportation Study (DARTS) was formalized in 1965 as a Continuous, Comprehensive and Cooperative Process as was initially authorized in the Highway Act of 1962.
The purpose of the Dougherty Area Regional Transportation Study (DARTS) is to ensure that federal-aid transportation projects are planned in a continuous, coordinated, and comprehensive manner. The study area of DARTS, the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), includes the existing urbanized area for the City of Albany, Dougherty County, the City of Leesburg, the southern half of Lee County, and those areas that are expected to become urbanized over the next 20 years.
FY24-27 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)
Public Comment Period (June 15, 2023 – July 30, 2023)
The DARTS FY 24-27 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is a prioritized list of funded transportation projects for the DARTS planning area. The TIP is used as an implementation guide by the federal, state, and local agencies. The Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration require that the TIP be financially constrained by year and the Georgia Department of Transportation provided the federal and state project status, cost estimates, and available funds for the various projects. The TIP is made up of projects that are listed in the current 2045 Long Range Plan (now known as Metropolitan Transportation Plan or MTP). The TIP addresses present and intermediate transportation needs throughout the metropolitan area. The TIP is updated every four years.
DARTS 2045 Amendment #3
Public Comment Period (June 15, 2023 – July 30, 2023)
The DARTS MPO is tasked with maintaining a fiscally balanced Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). During the development of a TIP update, the MTP must be amended to reflect the refined project costs for project phases that have not yet been “authorized” meaning the funding is committed in the TIP but not yet available for expenditure. This adjustment to funding totals and anticipated Year of Expenditure (YOE) can result in changes to the MTP prioritized project list. Below is a summary of the Proposed Changes in this amendment.
| Band 1 | Band 2 | Band 3 | Net Change |
2045 MTP | $ 17,649,738 | $ 21,473,003 | $ 41,656,620 | $ 80,779,361 |
Proposed 2045 MTP Amendment | $ 0 | $ 21,231,589 | $ 40,317,760 | $ 61,549,349 |
Total Proposed Change | 17,649,738 | $ 241,414 | $1,338,860 | $ 19,230,012 |
- 8 MTP Projects Impacted by Amendment
- 2 TIP projects with funding and schedule updates (Cost Savings)
- 1 Project with updated costs to Utility Phase and Construction Phase.
- 1 Project with phases that moved from Band 3 to Band 2 (Expedited)
- 1 Project with phases that moved from Band 2 to Band 3 (Delayed)
- 1 Project with phases that moved from Band 3 to Unfunded (Delayed)
- 4 Projects with phases that moved from Unfunded Band 4 into the constrained Plan (Expedited)
DARTS Project Status
GDOT Project Status as of March 6th, 2023. Please contact Tanner Anderson at taanderson@albanyga.gov for more information.