Project Selection Advisory Council
Public Hearing – Worcester
November 12, 2014
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November 12, 2014
Today’s Agenda
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PSA Council Overview/Work to Date
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Proposed Process
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Special Project Types
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Draft Report and Next Steps
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Public Comment
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
November 12, 2014
What is the Project Selection Advisory Council?
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Established by the Massachusetts Legislature in Section 11
of Chapter 46 of the Acts of 2013
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Required to:
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Develop uniform criteria and a transparent prioritization formula to be
used in the development of a comprehensive state transportation plan
 Deliver formal recommendations to the Legislature by December 31,
2014 – EXTENSION RECEIVED UNTIL JUNE 30, 2015
 Hold 6 public hearings; one in each highway district
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Council Members:
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Acting Secretary Frank
DePaola, MassDOT
Linda Dunlavy, FRCOG
Jim Lovejoy, Mount
Washington
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David Mohler, MassDOT
Jeffrey B. Mullan, Foley Hoag
John M. Pourbaix, CIM
Steve Silveira, ML Strategies
November 12, 2014
Proposed Objectives
SAFETY
Reduce frequency and severity of
collisions for all modes
Improve evacuation routes
MOBILITY/ACCESS
Support mode shift
Improve reliability
Improve efficiency
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Support sustainable development
Ensure efficient movement of freight
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EQUITY
Target underserved communities
HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
Reduce GHG
Reduce incidence of chronic disease
SYSTEM PRESERVATION
Preserve existing infrastructure
Ensure resiliency
November 12, 2014
Illustrative Projects
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November 12, 2014
Regional Equity
Percentage Funding Spent in Each MPO
Percent Chapter 90 Funding by MPO
Percent Hwy STIP Funding per MPO
Percent CIP Funding per MPO
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
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November 12, 2014
Regional Equity – Lessons Learned
The state of regional equity today:
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Different cuts of the data show different winners and losers
Inequities can mostly be explained by the top 2.5% most
expensive projects
To ensure regional equity in the future:
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Track regional distribution of funding over time
Define regional equity goals
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
November 12, 2014
Outstanding Considerations
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Cost
Number of people
impacted
Funding
categories/bucketing
Regional priorities
Tiers of scoring
Coordination with other
systems
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Aspirational data
 Point scale
 What counts as a
project?
 Who will be scoring?
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November 12, 2014
Proposed Prioritization Process
TIER 1: EVALUATION
TIER 2: COST/BENEFIT TIER 3: FUNDING
Low C/B Score:
Reassess against
moderate scoring
projects in TIER 1
All
Projects
TIER 1:
Evaluation
Prelim.
Ranked
List
TIER 2:
Cost/
Benefit
TIER 4: PROGRAM BALANCE
Not eligible for
funding:
Hold pending
funding availability
Final
Ranked
List
TIER 3:
Available
Funding
Filtered
List
TIER 4:
Program
Balance
State
Program
Project Causes Unbalance:
Justify or swap with another eligible project
Rejected
Projects
Low Score:
May revise to
improve score or
abandon
= Project Advances
= Screen
= Reassessment
= Project Rejected
= Projects Advance
= Projects on Hold
Special Project Types: Mega-Projects
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Background: Mega-projects require significant funds to plan,
potentially requiring a separate method for determining their
viability.
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Question: How do other state’s perform cost/benefit analyses for
mega-projects to help inform the advisability of pursuing a
project?
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Findings:
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Few states select mega-projects based on rational planning methods
 Wisconsin DOT makes recommendations to a legislative
commission after the environmental assessment stage to encumber
funds
 A risk based feasibility study prior to committing significant funds in
planning and engineering can help weed out untenable projects
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November 12, 2014
Special Project Types: Bridge Projects
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Background: Bridge projects currently have their own
prioritization system based on the Pontis condition rating system
that incorporates a highway evaluation factor
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Question: How should this existing system speak to our multimodal project prioritization process?
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Proposal:
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Update the bridge system to incorporate more policy elements
 Use the bridge condition score to the system preservation score
 The resulting sets of bridge prioritization lists should be similar,
allowing for a multi-modal comparison of bridge projects
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
November 12, 2014
Special Project Types: Preservation Projects
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Background: The Asset Management Advisory Council has been
tasked by the legislature to come up with an asset management strategy
that prioritizes system needs.
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Question: How should this process fit into our prioritization process?
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Proposals:
 Exclude certain types of maintenance projects from project
prioritization.
 Tier 1: Adapt evaluation criteria as needed to incorporate criteria and
data developed from AMAC.
 Tier 2: Incorporate AMAC measures of cost/benefit.
 Tier 3: Allocate funding specifically for the preservation of various
types. of assets.
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Tier 4: Apply AMAC recommendations when ensuring asset balance.
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November 12, 2014
Remaining and New Outstanding Considerations
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Timing of scoring
Aspirational data
Point scale
What counts as a
project?
Who will be scoring?
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MPO project treatment
Will this process produce
the desired result?
How many times does the
project go through this
process?
How do we incorporate
project readiness?
How to determine
appropriate balance?
November 12, 2014
Interim Report Outline
Cover Letter with Overview
Memo 1: Review of current practices in Massachusetts
and best practices across the country
Memo 2: Regional Equity assessment
Memo 3: Explanation of prioritization formula and
process
Memo 4: Discussion of outstanding issues to be
addressed in the coming year
Memo 5: Roadmap
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November 12, 2014
Proposed Roadmap
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December 10
 December 17
 December 31
 January-June
 January
 February
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March
April
May
June
Draft interim report
Meeting in Boston
Submit interim report to legislature
Hold regular meetings with council
Refine scoring guidance
Test additional illustrative projects;
refine formula
Propose process recommendations
Release draft report
Comment period ends
Submit final report
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
November 12, 2014
PSA Council Hearing Format
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Hearing is an opportunity for Council members to hear from you
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Please sign in if you would like to provide comment
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Depending on the number of attendees, commenters may be asked
to limit the duration of their remarks
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Email or written correspondence is also being accepted at:
Scott Hamwey
Office of Transportation Planning – MassDOT
10 Park Plaza, Room 4150
Boston, MA 02116
scott.hamwey@dot.state.ma.us
| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
November 12, 2014