2.7.3 PLAN Authority

PLAN Authority is a fiscally constrained project authority which corresponds to project development outside the 10-year UTP. PLAN Authority supports TxDOT’s long-range transportation planning efforts and is prioritized for interstates, U.S. routes, state highways (SHs), and long-term corridor development. PLAN Authority provides a link between TxDOT’s SLRTP and the UTP.
PLAN Authority is reserved for statewide transportation initiatives and large, regionally impactful planning projects on SLRTP Corridors of Statewide Significance that contribute to the transportation goals of the SLRTP. The Corridor Planning Branch of TPP approves projects for PLAN Authority.
To be eligible for PLAN Authority, there are several scenarios that are considered, including the following :
  • Project contributes to meeting the goals of the SLRTP;
  • Project is part of a fiscally constrained metropolitan, rural, and other regionally adopted transportation plan;
  • If a project is outside an MPO boundary, it is on a:
    • SLRTP Corridors of Statewide Significance; or
    • Phase I Trunk System; or
    • Connectivity Corridor Network; or
    • Statewide and Rural Connectivity Task Force Corridor
  • Project is part of a larger corridor initiative, such as interstate development;
  • Project fills a gap in a corridor currently being developed in the UTP; or
  • Project is a candidate for UTP funding Categories 2 (Metropolitan and Urban Area Corridors), Category 4 (Statewide Connectivity Corridors), and Category 12 (Strategic Priority Corridors) (see
    Section 3.5.1
    ).
To request PLAN Authority for a project, the Director of Transportation Planning & Development (TP&D) should submit a request through TxC.
Other factors for PLAN Authority eligibility include roadway classification, project classification, TxDOT roadway network, and activity type as outlined in TPP’s
PLAN Authority Guidebook
.
TPP Corridor Planning Coordinator approves projects for statewide initiatives or large, regionally impactful planning projects for PLAN Authority. PLAN Authority ends when the project is prioritized by the Districts or MPO for the UTP 10-year window to continue development activities.