Rural STP obligation balance at $19.5 million: Complete biddable packages must be received by August 1!

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Local road agencies should be aware that the Rural STP balance is unusually high for this time of year. As of June 27, approximately $19.5 million of local rural obligation authority remains. With the August redistribution right around the corner.

This total includes about $4 million in bid savings on projects already let.

Please submit projects promptly. The RTF Program’s new policy is that all complete biddable packages received by August 1 will be funded.

It is very important that locals spend the full amount of the STP, as only 5 percent may be carried over – about $2 million for this year. If you can identify federal aid projects that could be let this year, your next step will be to identify obligation authority – whether in your own Rural Task Force or another.

If you will not spend your remaining STP obligation dollars, please notify your entire RTF immediately, as well as your planner. We are hopeful that other county and local road agencies have projects that could spend down the funds.

Click here to see the most recent (June 26) spreadsheet that shows obligation remaining (“Unsub Amt”) in the various RTFs. This data will also soon be posted on MDOT’s Local Agency Programs web page.

MDOT cautions the figures are not perfect, as the agency transitioned one of its financial databases earlier this year. You may wish to contact the regional planner for a RTF to determine if they truly have obligation remaining before you proceed.

Obviously, local road agencies do not wish to leave STP dollars on the table but the time is very short to get a project approved!

If you have questions on whether a project is moving forward or need to arrange additional obligation, please contact MDOT: Either Jim Sturdevant at (517) 335-2603 and sturdevant@michigan.gov; or Mark Harrison at (517) 373-2286 and harrisonm@michigan.gov. An alternate contact is Bruce Kadzban at (517) 335-2229 and kadzbanb@michigan.gov.

John LaMacchia is the Assistant Director of State and Federal Affairs for the League handling transportation, infrastructure, energy and environment issues. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.