Rural Planning Organization

Purpose & Benefits

The purpose of the First Tennessee Rural Planning Organization (RPO) is to involve local officials in multi-modal transportation planning through a structured process. Our goal is to ensure quality, competence, and fairness in the transportation decision making process.  The RPO process allows rural community leaders and elected officials to consider multi modal transportation needs on a local and regional basis; the process also allows leaders to review long-term needs as well as short-term funding priorities and make future project recommendations to the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT).  

Since the RPO was formed in 2005-2006, the main goal of the program has been to assist local governments with identifying multi-modal rural transportation needs through the Development District.  As transportation needs funding mechanisms change throughout the District and nation the RPO process will continue to be a valuable tool for local governments. 

Staff

The RPO consists of 2 working committees, a Technical Committee and an Executive Board, whose primary function is to work each year to prioritize projects for future funding and prioritize a list of “requests for study”.

Projects

The RPO Coordinator maintains an active database of elected and appointed transportation officials as well as a database of stakeholders.  Stakeholders are primarily interested citizens and principal users of the regional rural transportation system.  Staff also assisted with TACIR infrastructure surveys related to transportation projects.  Several new projects were identified by local officials during this process.  The Coordinator also worked in several counties in the District to identify or confirm existing County Seat Connector routes.  These are proposed 4-lane routes from each county seat to an Interstate. 

Each year the RPO Technical Committee and Executive Board prioritize a list of “Needs” for future study and a list of “projects” for future funding by the Tennessee General Assembly.  The current ranking of “needs” in the RPO area as prioritized by the Technical Committee and Executive Board are as follows:

2010 Transportation Needs for Study

  1.  SR-67 in Johnson County from SR-167 to SR-34
  2.  SR-167 in Johnson County from SR-67 to SR-34
  3.  SR-357 Extension from US19E/11E to TCRA
  4.  SR-107 in Greene County to SR-81 in Washington County
  5.  SR-70 in Greene County from Nolichucky River to SR-35
  6.  SR-172 in Greene County from SR-35 to I-81

The list of “Projects” prioritized and recommended for funding for 2009 is as follows: 

2009 Recommendations for Funding

  1. SR-35 (US-321) Cocke County line to N. of Nolichucky River
  2. SR-107 from Main Street to Industrial Drive in Erwin
  3. SR-35 (US-321) N. of Nolichucky River to S. of SR-349
  4. SR-35 (US-321) S. of SR-349 to SR-34
  5. SR-35 ext. SR-34 west of Greeneville to SR-93
  6. By-Pass US-11E W. of Greeneville to 11E E. of Greeneville
  7. SR-31 Mooresburg to Adams Lane in Hawkins County
  8. SR-66 from SR-34 to S. of Speedwell Rd in Hawkins County

 

*2010 Prioritization will be done in November/December