Planning and Programming involves the identification of the project objectives and the development of a statement of work that identifies the project or program priorities and activities to be performed by the project partners. The process will include, at a minimum, the description of the project or program, the responsible organizations performing the work, the time frames for completing the work, the costs of the work and the sources of funding. The elements below are critical to completing the Planning and Programming and moving toward the execution of the Advance Funding Agreement (AFA) described in the next section.

Prior to execution of the AFA, TxDOT must determine if the LG will be approved to manage or perform one or more elements of the project development process. states: “the State Transportation Department (STD) has responsibility for the construction of all Federal-aid projects, and is not relieved of such responsibility by authorizing performance of the work by a local public agency or other Federal agency. The STD shall be responsible for insuring that such projects receive adequate supervision and inspection to ensure that projects are completed in conformance with approved plans and specifications.” TxDOT has developed a standardized process to evaluate each LG’s qualifications for performance of one or more elements of the project development process.