Construct Authority is granted for projects within years one to four of the current UTP – the projects in this timeframe are listed in the STIP. All phases of work are permitted for projects in Construct Authority such as: final design development, ROW acquisition, utility relocation, railroad adjustments and local agreement execution.

Projects with Construct Authority are typically the highest ranked projects that have proposed letting dates within the next four years and are eligible to be selected for the 2- year letting schedule based on readiness.

Construct Authority includes all 12 UTP Categories. Projects must be fully funded with no DDA/SWDA/etc. or partially funded projects. Projects in the 2-year Letting Schedule must be ready to let (RTL) (see ) or projected to be RTL by the scheduled letting date. Federally funded and regionally significant projects with Construct Authority must be approved in the current FHWA approved 4-year STIP.

Commission authorization is required for projects in funding categories 2, 4, and 12 to be moved to Construct Authority. Districts and Divisions decide on other category programming as outlined in the UTP Programming Guidance specific to each funding category. Construct Authority ends when all development activities are complete, and the project goes to letting.