ADOT Q&A

1. How do we get our projects into ADOT’s Long-Range Plan?
   The closer you get to local and regional government agencies, the better chance of getting projects into the plan. The COGs supply information to ADOT’s Multimodal Planning Division (MPD), who, in turn access FHWA. Be careful to keep ADOT’s Long-Range Plan separate from ADOT’s 5-year Program. They are two distinct items. The plan looks out to identify the State’s transportation needs over the next 20 years, with more detail going into the near term and much less detail in the later years. It makes assumptions about the level of funding needed and projected. The 5-year Program is very specific, with identified projects that are in the budget to be built. The Program is developed with input from the COGs and the district engineers regarding priority project needs.
2. Does the long-range plan consider funding limitations, or is it just everything people want?
   The long-range plan does take financial plans into account. Nothing is included in the plan that is not expected to be able to be funded. Note that the last 10 years of the plan have less well defined projects and include transportation possibilities, other transit modes (e.g. light rail), but nothing is considered that is not financially feasible.
3. Is Transit planning not getting enough attention by ADOT?
   Even though the bulk of the dollars go to highway construction, there is significant attention paid to transit planning. Also, there will be a special transit working team to help with the 20-year plan. A new data system called Transit Asset Management System (TAMS) is also being developed which will be more objective about transportation needs and decisions.
4. How does the Planning Assistance for Rural Areas Program work?
   The ADOT Planning Assistance for Rural Areas (PARA) Program is administered through ADOT-MPD. The primary objective of the PARA Program is to develop a comprehensive transportation plan for a proposed local area or region to guide multi-modal transportation planning and programming for a 20-year timeframe.
   
   Through its planning process, a PARA will generally identify and address current transportation problems for all travel modes, determine future transportation system needs, and analyze alternative solutions. In addition, the study will develop a recommended plan of transportation improvements and provide a staged implementation guide to meet short-, mid-, and long-range needs.
   
   Eligible participants in the Program include towns, cities, counties and tribal governments, which in coordination with ADOT, administer the PARA and conduct it in cooperation with a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). Depending on the area to be studied, a TAC could be comprised of representatives from local towns, cities, counties, tribes, ADOT, FHWA, and other affected agencies. ADOT will collaboratively work with the towns, cities, and tribal governments to select a consultant to undertake the study and will guide the course of the study leading to the final report.
   
   Public input on perceived transportation problems and issues are essential to the PARA and is conducted at public meetings. The planning process would then culminate into a locally approved transportation plan, which could become an element in the community’s overall general plan. Finally, ventures under the PARA Program are 100% financed by ADOT. In other words, the PARA Program is not a match share program.
   
   PARA Program application and application process information is available online. For further information, please contact Justin Feek, Senior Transportation Planner at 602.712.6196.
5. Why aren’t there more public meetings for transportation planning and why aren’t they closer to home?
   Getting public participation at meetings regarding individual projects is a major challenge for the planners. They want as much public participation and input as possible and there are also tradeoffs in terms of the expense of each meeting. For example, when they held public meetings for the SR 264 corridor study, they actually held about nine more meetings than originally planned, at a cost of $5000 each. Only about 12-30 people showed up for each meeting. The message from the Planning Department is this – they need your help in getting the word out and encouraging people to participate in the process. Take note of the upcoming planning meetings around the State and please take part. Also note that the LRP policy guidelines indicate that the document will be produced in consultation with local and tribal governments, so your needs will be included.
6. Partnering with ADOT and the tribe… can this be used toward maintenance on asphalt crack sealing?
   Partnering between the tribes and ADOT is encouraged for all transportation related issues including maintenance. Contact the district engineer to initiate further discussion. Crack sealing of BIA owned roads is done under the BIA maintenance side of the IRR Program.
7. Do tribes have LRPs (15-20 yrs.) and can ADOT access them?
   Yes. ADOT receives copies of tribal long-range transportation plans from the BIA Regional Offices once they are finalized. For some projects, tribes also submit LRPs directly to ADOT or ADOT can access them by contacting the tribes individually. Also, ADOT district engineers encourage tribes to contact them of LRP updates and efforts.
8. How do ADOT and BIA interact at the interface of each other’s roads?
   Each agency is responsible for maintaining their roadway section to where it actually intersects with the other’s roadway. ADOT district offices and the BIA Navajo Region Roads Office have worked together to try to improve intersections of State highways and BIA routes by adding turn lanes and re-striping, as funds are available. Also, interaction takes place through memorandums of agreement, especially where BIA roads intersect with state highways. A request to cost share for intersection improvements is made to ADOT. Coordination is between the BIA (usually the Agency Roads Office), the ADOT district engineer and/or local maintenance supervisor. Construction easements are obtained for connections to the each other’s roads.
9. Where does ADOT currently get their information or data about Navajo lands?
   From both BIA and Navajo Nation. The Navajo DOT can also provide information.
10. ADOT criteria – why is road construction only improved to the reservation boundary?
    To the best of our knowledge this question focuses on SR 77 north of Interstate 40 and the continuation of the roadway north of the reservation boundary at N6. SR 77 ends at the reservation boundary and the state does not have responsibility for the roadway north of the boundary.
11. How can ADOT and tribes collaborate on combining funding to coordinate adjacent road projects?
    Work with the respective ADOT district engineer and COG. Also, Memorandum of Agreements (MOA) can be used to fund jointly sponsored projects.
12. How can ADOT work with tribes to establish realistic schedules to complete projects?
    Partnering between the tribes and ADOT is encouraged for all transportation related projects/issues and has been very successful when the tribes and ADOT have worked together (e.g., the tribe doing archaeological, R/W and environmental work and ADOT doing the construction). It is also possible to leverage ADOT funds with BIA funds to get projects completed. An ongoing dialog between ADOT and the tribes is the key to keeping projects visible and on track. Also, knowing the requirements to properly clear a project helps set a realistic schedule.
    
    Participate in the programming and the design of the project. Participation will help the project team understand tribal issues and processes so that realistic schedules can be developed and followed. Stay in contact with the tribes respective Districts where projects are planned so that priorities and schedules can be developed concurrently.
    
    ADOT encourages tribes to get involved with their local Council of Governments. ADOT has a good relationship with them and active tribes are getting projected funded. Keep the lines of communication open with the District Engineer, Maintenance Engineer, Senior Resident Engineer and the District Development Engineer: “We are all approachable and will listen to your needs.”
13. How can ADOT Maintenance and TERO’s work together, particularly on a maintenance contract?
    ADOT maintenance contracts should include Tribal Employment Rights Office (TERO) contacts if work is exclusively on Indian Reservation land. In some cases, the maintenance contract may be over a larger area and not exclusively on Indian land. In those cases, the TERO contacts may be included in the contract documents but the method of addressing the TERO requirements will change due to the location of the work.
14. Need to develop some type of local communication chart to identify contact points at ADOT Districts, Maintenance organizations and Tribal Districts & Chapter Houses.
    In the meantime, there are organizational charts available on the ADOT Web page at http://www.azdot.gov/index_docs/Contact_ADOT.asp. If the chart is not available on the Internet, contact the District office. nearest the tribe for more information.
15. How are tribal transportation plans coordinated with Statewide Planning?
    ADOT receives copies of tribal long-range plans from the BIA Regional Offices once they are finalized. For some projects, tribes also submit their LRPs directly to ADOT for review and comment. ADOT can also obtain tribal LRPs by contacting the tribes individually. Also, ADOT district engineers encourage tribes to contact them of LRP updates and efforts. The coordination process for statewide planning is a group effort. Anyone wishing to be involved can contact the ADOT Systems and Regional Planning Section at (602) 712-8591. The greater the involvement, the greater the benefit.
16. What type of budget funds the engineering portion of ADOT (percentage)?
    ADOT is primarily funded through the State Highway User Revenue Fund. A portion of the Department’s budget is appropriated by the State legislature and the remaining portion is used to match federal aid funds for the construction program. There are other programs such as the half-cent sales tax in Maricopa County that funds specific activities performed by the department.
17. What mass transit funds may be available from ADOT?
    ADOT distributes Federal transit funds directly to tribes that have qualifying transit programs. Please see the following web site for more information: http://www.azdot.gov/mpd/Community_Grant_Services/Index.asp. ADOT itself does not distribute State transit funds.
18. Could ADOT notify tribes with current STIP?
    The STIP information is available on the ADOT website and is updated regularly.
    Please see: http://www.azdot.gov/mpd/Priority_Programming/STIP.asp.
19. Can ADOT provide a list to the tribes, which includes names and telephone numbers for the district engineers and local maintenance supervisors, as well as ADOT Board Members?
    Contact the district offices to get the maintenance supervisor information for your area. The district office information is available on the ADOT web site, please see: http://www.azdot.gov/Highways/Districts.asp. A list of board members can be found on the ADOT website at http://www.azdot.gov/Board/index.asp.
20. Why hasn’t ADOT set up a mechanism for consulting, coordinating and funding with tribes or tribal organizations similar to that which it has with COGs?
    ADOT MPD Tribal Planning Section works with ADOT staff and the Tribal governments on various studies and projects through Partnering, forums and organizations such as Intertribal Council of Arizona (ITCA) and Arizona Commission of Indian Affairs (ACIA). ADOT District staff participate in Partnerships to help address tribal transportation needs and issues. In addition, ADOT MPD, through its PARA Program provides funding at 100% to address transportation planning needs.
21. What is the role of the Transportation Board (is that MPO/COG)?
    The board approves the agency’s policies and they award projects. They provide council to the total agency. Board members work within their own communities regarding funding. Please see: http://www.azdot.gov/Board/index.asp.
22. Budget cuts have impacted rural highway maintenance. Safety is a critical issue. Can any project funding be utilized for safety reasons? Identify which program funds can be used.
    There are several issues to consider in response to this question:

    • ADOT HES - Hazard Elimination System has some funds available
    • District Minor Program may have some funding available
    • Emergencies are addressed in the best possible manner
    • Accident data is required to justify the use of funds (must show cost/benefit ratio)
    • Top priority is always safety
    • Cost sharing assists in providing funding
       
23. Does ADOT incorporate tribal land use plans into the project selection and planning process?
    This issue should be part of the discussion for safety projects and corridor profiles studies, etc. We have been getting good advance notice and that is important so that we can coordinate with our highway plans. Developers are the biggest wild card because they often don’t coordinate with each other or the tribes or ADOT. It is important that this be a three-way conversation.
24. Do district engineers ask each tribe for input to the Five-Year Program?
    The Yuma District Office contacts the Cocopah Tribe monthly and the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) on a periodic basis to get input. In Phoenix, meetings are held with the tribes regularly in the MAG region, especially regarding land use planning. We are continually reinforcing the need to plan ahead. In Globe, the district office utilizes the road committee, health services, BIA and Chairmans’ offices. Input from the COGs is also used. Needs are accommodated more quickly and effectively through the use of sub-programs rather than major programs. This is a good strategy for rural areas and smaller project needs. There is approximately $550 million to maintain and improve roadways, half of which is in sub-programs like bridge, safety, environmental, etc. In rural areas, there is $90-$100 million a year in major reconstruction.
25. Planning and funding are important. Why is there not a Native American on the State Transportation Board? Tribes have requested this. State highways run through our reservations, our miles and population are utilized for funding. What will it take to get a native on the board?
    The Governor appoints the Transportation Board members. That is where you will need to lobby.
26. Does ADOT have a leasing program to help areas with equipment needs?
    ADOT does not have a program. There may be some potential for surplus equipment acquisitions. Some follow up will be required. Wording changes may be required to allow tribes the ability to use state contracts.