Section 3: Transportation Pooled Fund (TPF) Program

Overview

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) sponsors the Transportation Pooled Fund (TPF) Program as a means for interested states, FHWA, and other organizations to partner to solve common transportation-related problems. To qualify as a pooled fund study, more than one state transportation agency, Federal agency, local agency such as a municipality or metropolitan planning organization, college or university, or a private company must find the subject important enough to commit funds or other resources to the project.
State and federal transportation agencies may initiate pooled fund studies. Local and regional transportation agencies, private industry, foundations, and colleges and universities may partner with any or all of the sponsoring agencies to conduct pooled fund projects.

RTI Responsibilities

The Research and Technology Implementation Division (RTI) serves as TxDOT’s coordinator for the TPF Program. In that role, RTI is responsible for:
  • receiving solicitations for pooled fund projects, whether the solicitation is received from FHWA, a lead state on a project, or a DD,
  • reviewing each solicitation to determine how the proposed project relates to ongoing research activities and TxDOT priorities,
  • coordinating with the appropriate TxDOT division to determine whether they wish to join the project,
  • notifying
    FHWA and
     other states of TxDOT’s interest
    as the lead or partner state
    ,
  • managing the commitment of TxDOT’s SPR funds to pooled fund projects, and
  • managing pooled fund project information for TxDOT on the pooled fund website at
    www.pooledfund.org
    ,
    to include posting TxDOT's commitments on the TPF website to signify interest in participating in a pooled fund project,
  • coordinating implementation of the results of pooled fund projects at TxDOT.

Pooled Fund Project Funding

Pooled fund projects are funded from TxDOT’s apportionment of SPR funds. As such, they compete for funding with other TxDOT research activities. Therefore, all pooled fund solicitations are evaluated to ensure that the benefits TxDOT expects to receive from the project are balanced with the funding committed.