Project Selection Advisory Council Meeting Notes of March 13, 2014
Draft Memorandum for the Record
Project Selection Advisory Council Meeting
March 13, 2014 Meeting
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Council, Union Station, 2 Washington
Square, 2nd Floor, Worcester, MA
David Mohler, Deputy Secretary of Policy and Executive Director of Office of Transportation Planning MassDOT
1. Introductions
Sheri Warrington, Manager of MPO Activities, Office of Transportation Planning – MassDOT introduced
herself followed by the other members in the room. Jim Lovejoy, Chairman of Board of Selectman, Town
of Mt. Washington representing Mass Municipal Association and Berkshire MPO, Steve Silveira, MLS
Strategies, David Mohler, Deputy Secretary of Policy and Executive Director of Office of Transportation
Planning – MassDOT, Jeff Mullan, Foley Hoag LLP, Frank DePaola, MassDOT Highway Administrator, John
Pourbaix, Construction Industries of Massachusetts. David Mohler mentioned that due to other
responsibilities, absent were Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, MassDOT Richard Davey, Chair, and
Linda Dunleavy, Gubernatorial Appointment representing the planning agencies and Franklin Regional
Council of Governments.
2. Draft Table of Contents for Final Report
A draft table of contents for the Final Report on Project Prioritization and Selection Criteria was
provided to each member for discussion and comment. Sheri Warrington provided a description of the
draft table for the final report, which is intended to summarize the goals and objectives for formulating
the evaluation criteria in conjunction with holding public hearings throughout the state. The final
deliverable report will be delivered to the state legislature by December 31, 2014. The report will
document how the Council structures the meetings and some of the best practices and criteria that
were taken into consideration. David asked if there were any comments on the draft concept of the
report table. There were no comments on the draft table.
3. Council Schedule, Public Hearing Schedule and Public Outreach
David Mohler stated that there will be 6 public hearings, one in each Highway District, taking place
either before or after MPO Meetings. A proposed schedule of the council meetings and public hearings
was provided. David mentioned that the meetings should not take place until a prioritization scheme
has been developed. A council meeting will be set prior to the first public hearing, scheduled to take
place on April 29, 2014 in conjunction with the Berkshire MPO Meeting. It was agreed upon that the
meetings in Districts 4, 5 and 6 should be as late in the morning or early afternoon as possible and that
meetings in Districts 1, 2 and 3 will be held in the afternoon to best align with the various MPO Meeting
times and travel distances. Sheri Warrington mentioned that the schedule provided satisfies meetings
with all 6 Districts and that the only MPOs that would not be participating in the scheduled format
would be Martha’s Vineyard Commission, Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Council,
Franklin Regional Council of Governments and Northern Middlesex. During the scheduled “cluster” of
meetings in October 2014 a draft of the final report will be prepared.
A web site for the Council will contain, at minimum, the meeting schedule, an agenda prior to each
meeting, the notes and/or transcript of each meeting, and a copy of the handouts provided prior to and
after the meeting. A list of council members and directions will also be provided to the public hearing
locations. An email distribution list was created for interested parties in the Council, including MPO and
Regional Planning Associations, MassDOT employees and others. A public notice with all information on
the agenda needs to be posted at least 14 days in advance of any public hearing.
4. Project Selection and Evaluation of Best Practices
At the suggestion of Secretary Richard Davey during the January 28, 2014 PSAC meeting, Sheri
Warrington solicited various State Departments of Transportation for information regarding their
project selection and best practices. Sheri Warrington received responses from several state agencies
and specified four states that were in the process of establishing evaluation criteria and four states that
have established their prioritization system. Sheri Warrington made a presentation to highlight the
results of this solicitation. The four states described in the process of establishing evaluation criteria
were: New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT,) Michigan Department of Transportation
(MDOT,) Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT,) and Oregon Department of Transportation
(ODOT.) The four states described as having established evaluation criteria and prioritization of project
implementation were North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT,) Nevada Department of
Transportation (NDOT,) Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT,) and Delaware Department of
Transportation (DDOT.)
Sheri Warrington provided specifics relative to how each state agency is either approaching or have
established their criteria using data or non-data sets; meeting schedules; whether all modes of
transportation were considered; any software associated with the development process, and if rural and
urban projects were separated. Of particular note was the “Decision Lens” tool that is currently being
used by NHDOT as a source of prioritization to share with the public, and is also currently used by the
Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA.) A suggestion was made for the MBTA to provide a
presentation on this software at an upcoming Council meeting.
It was noted that the evaluation criteria development process should not entail collection of data, but
rather utilizing data that is readily available. Sheri Warrington described the state requirements for
Massachusetts and the Section 11 mandated factors. Specific information for each state’s prioritization
process can be found within the presentation document, posted on the massDOT’s PSA Council web
page.
5. Existing Evaluation Systems used by MassDOT Highway:
Presentations on Bridge Index, Pavement Management and Highway Safety were given relative to
evaluation systems currently used within the MassDOT Highway Division. Alexander Bordow, State
Bridge Engineer – MassDOT, presented on the bridge prioritization system and the process by which
bridges are selected for improvements within the MPO programming process. The current prioritization
system has been in place since 2008 and uses the PONTIS software application to calculate current and
projected Health Index. The prioritization system factors in the aforementioned Health Index in addition
to Condition Loss and Highway Evaluation as its primary criteria, each ranked from 1-100. The three
factors are subsequently populated into a weighted “Rank Value” equation in order to determine a final
ranking.
Edmund Naras, State Pavement Management Engineer – MassDOT presented the project selection
process for Interstate and National Highway System roadways relative to pavement condition (cracking,)
ride quality and the processes for collecting the data associated therewith. A semi-automated
“Pathrunner” system is used to collect data, the results of which are analyzed using performance models
and included in an Incremental Benefit Cost (IBC) ratio for prioritization.
Neil Boudreau, State Traffic Engineer – MassDOT presented on the traffic and safety engineering project
selection process. Neil elaborated on the traffic and safety programs, highlighting the Highway State
Improvement Project program guidelines. Project selection criteria include property damage, injury and
fatalities. Neil Boudreau stated that low cost projects with notable safety issues receive prioritization.
For more detailed information regarding these presentations, please refer to the presentation
documents, posted on the MassDOT’s PSA Council web page.
6. Other Items
The next Advisory council Meeting was scheduled for early April. (Subsequent to the meeting, the next
meeting was scheduled for April 1, 2014.) The agenda for the next meeting was briefly discussed,
including approving or revising the proposed schedules, hearings, and mission statement.
Items on the April 1, 2014 Agenda:
Action Items
 Approve Minutes from first two Council Meetings
 Approve or Revise Proposed Schedule for Council Meetings & Public Hearings
 Approve or Revise Proposed Mission Statement for PSA Council
 Approve or Revise Proposed Agenda and Materials for First Public Hearing
Other Items
 Web site
 Agenda items for next PSA Council Meeting
Additional attendees:
Sarah Bradbury, MassDOT District 3
Rich Rydant, CMRPC
Sujatha Mohanakrishnan, CMRPC
Jonathan Church, CMRPC
Bill Betts, MassDOT FAPO
Marie Rose, MassDOT, Highway Project Mgmt.
Ed Naras, MassDOT, Pavement Mgmt.
Nick Downing, MAPC
Mike Mauro, NMCOG
Neil Boudreau, MassDOT Traffic & Safety
George Snow, MRPC
Dave Blei, MassDOT District 2