John V. Mihaly, Principal Transportation Planner
The HRTPO Board approved over $16 million in funding from the 2025-2026 Transportation Alternatives (TA) Set-Aside program at the March 21, 2024 meeting. The focus of this program is to help localities fund community-based projects that expand non-motorized travel choices such as bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Expanding travel choices helps support a more robust local economy, better quality of life, and a positive impact on the environment.
For the current round of TA Set-Aside, (5) sidewalk and (5) multi-use trail projects were approved for funding. The sidewalk projects will provide a better-connected pedestrian network and are primarily adjacent to K-12 schools across the region. Four of the five multi-use trail projects selected are for the completion of segments along the Birthplace of America Trail (BoAT), a planned regional trail to extend the existing Virginia Capital Trail to Hampton Roads.
Funding for the TA Set-Aside Program comes from the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) Program. This program is a part of the current Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) passed in November 2021. The HRTPO had $13.6 million in funding to allocate and District members of the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) are each provided $2.05 million per year ($4.1 million per cycle) in TA Set-Aside funds to allocate to projects.
TA Set-Aside eligible activities include on- and off-road pedestrian and bicycle facilities; infrastructure projects for improving non-driver access to public transportation and enhanced mobility; community improvement activities, such as historic preservation and vegetation management; environmental mitigation related to stormwater and habitat connectivity; recreational trail projects; safe routes to school (SRTS) projects; and projects for planning, designing, or constructing boulevards and other roadways largely in the right-of-way of former divided highways.
HRTPO staff coordinates with VDOT Local Assistance Division (LAD) staff in carrying out the project selection process for Hampton Roads. The VDOT LAD scored a total of (20) projects in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA) and (2) projects outside of the Hampton Roads MPA yet within the Hampton Roads Construction District.
The table below lists (4) previously approved (highlighted in orange) and (6) new candidate projects within the Hampton Roads (MPA) that have been selected to receive TA Set-Aside funding in FY 2025-26.
For more information on the TA Set-Aside Project Selection Process please visit the HRTPO website at:
www.hrtpo.org/255/Transportation-Alternatives-TA-Set-Aside