What is the CMMPO?

The Central Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization (CMMPO) was established in 1976 to undertake the comprehensive, continuing, and cooperative transportation planning process required by the United States Department of Transportation. The Central MA Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC) is one of ten members of the CMMPO and it is the staff to this organization as well. The members that make up the CMMPO are the following:
 

The CMMPO is responsible for preparing and updating the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) and the Public Outreach Program (POP) for the Central Massachusetts region that includes the City of Worcester and the surrounding 39 communities.

The LRTP is a long-range planning document that describes the region’s current transportation system and how that system should be maintained or modified over the next 20 years. The federal planning provisions passed in August of 2005, requires the CMMPO to update the LRTP every 4 years, since it presides over a region that does not meet federal air quality standards for ozone.

The TIP lists federal-aid eligible highway, bridge and transit projects that are expected to be implemented over the next 5 years. This document must be financially constrained -- there must be a reasonable expectation that the projects listed there will be implemented based on available funding. A new list is compiled each year and endorsed by the CMMPO. To view a list of the federal-aid eligible roadways in each of the 40 CMRPC communities, please click here.

The UPWP identifies funding sources and amounts as well as the anticipated staff needed for each project. Often times these tasks reflect work to address problems or deficiencies identified in the Regional Transportation Plan. This document is endorsed by the CMMPO every year as well.

In addition to the above CMMPO functions, a variety of other activities are performed under the Transportation Planning Program such as: periodic traffic counts on the region's highways to monitor traffic congestion, pavement condition and highway safety, transit and paratransit system planning, and corridor planning studies.