Transportation Planning Process

MDOT identifies projects with input from MPOs and develops the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). The Transportation Commission approves all projects, contracts and expenditures. MDOT maintains a Six-Year Plan of projects submitted to the Legislature each January. MDOT also produces a long-range plan called the Mississippi Unified Long-Range Transportation Infrastructure Plan (MULTIPLAN) that is a comprehensive analysis of transportation infrastructure and needs throughout the state with a 25-year horizon.

Legislative Role in Transportation Planning

MDOT submits its Six-Year Plan of projects to the Legislature each January, but the Legislature does not approve this plan. The Legislature can identify a project through a transportation bond bill. The Legislature also has passed statutes identifying specific projects or programs for MDOT to implement, for example, the 1987 Four-Lane Program and the Vision 21 Program (Miss. Code Ann. §65-3-97 and §65-1-145). These statutes generally provide MDOT with guidelines for project prioritization but give MDOT flexibility to change prioritization of these projects and to determine when each prioritized project is to be completed.