In response to requirements pursuant to its designation as a Metropolitan Planning Organization, AMBAG prepares transportation plans and programs for the Monterey Bay region consisting of Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties. One of these documents is the Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP), a multi-million dollar, multi-year program of proposed projects for major highway, arterial, transit, and bikeway projects. Each MTIP covers four years of programming and is prepared in coordination with local, state and federal partner agencies. AMBAG updates the MTIP every two years and is currently preparing the MTIP for FFY 2023 to FFY 2026.

The federally required MTIP is a comprehensive listing of surface transportation improvement projects for the tri-county Monterey Bay Region that receive federal funds, are subject to a federally required action, and/or are regionally significant. The process AMBAG must follow when developing and adopting the MTIP is outlined at Federal statute 23 U.S.C. 450. After interagency consultation and public review/comments/hearing, the AMBAG Board of Directors adopts the MTIP. The document is then submitted to Caltrans, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for their approval and incorporation into the Federal Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (FSTIP).

Changes to the MTIP between two updates can be performed through formal amendments and administrative modifications. AMBAG processes formal amendments to the MTIP on a quarterly schedule or more often, if warranted by special circumstances. Administrative modifications are processed for minor program revisions on an as needed basis. In accordance with the current Federal regulations, the MTIP as well as any amendments to the adopted MTIP must meet the following general requirements for a project to be approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation as a part of the FSTIP:

1. Projects must be consistent with AMBAG's adopted 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (MTP/SCS);
2. Projects must be financially constrained to reasonably available resources; and
3. Projects must satisfy public review/comments requirements.

AMBAG works closely with the Transportation Agency in the development of the MTIP, and Transportation Agency staff will coordinate with the local jurisdictions to update their projects in the MTIP as necessary. The schedule for the FFY 2023 to 2026 MTIP update is listed below.

Table 1. Schedule for the Monterey Bay Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program for FFY 2023 to 2026