SPOT 7.0

GET TO KNOW THE STRATEGIC TRANSPORTATION PROJECT PRIORITIZATION PROCESS (AKA: SPOT 7.0)

Strategic Prioritization Office OF Transportation (SPOT)

The Strategic Prioritization Process is a data-driven, transparent method for prioritizing transportation projects and is used to develop the State Transportation Improvement Program/ Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program(STIP/MTIP), which identify the projects that will be funded during a 10-year period. Prioritization scores all roadway, public transportation, bicycle & pedestrian, rail, ferry, and aviation projects based upon approved criteria.

The Prioritization Process (aka SPOT) is the process that determines the majority of capital improvement projects funded through NCDOT and NCDOT’s allotment of federal funds. The process is governed by the Strategic Transportation Investments (STI) Law of 2012 that provides the framework for a more data-driven and transparent process that also utilizes local input from NCDOT Divisions, MPOs, and RPOs. In relation to other aspects of transportation planning, the prioritization process serves as the bridge to determine what long-range needs are funded in the TIP/STIP for implementation.

P 7.0 refers to the seventh iteration of the prioritization process in North Carolina and will be the process that determines what new projects are funded in the 2026- 2035 TIP/STIP.

What’s Changed Between P 6.0 and P 7.0?

In sum, not a lot. The process is still very much the same with some modifications or “tweaks” that have changed how some projects will be scored and opened the process to more project types. Some of the more substantive changes include:

• Microtransit is now an eligible submittal for transit funding
• Rail Modernization is now an eligible submittal for rail funding
• A minimum of 6% of funding will be programmed to non-highway (the previous minimum was 4%); 90% minimum for highway funding remains the same

SPOT 7.0 Schedule

DATE	EVENT
July 2023	Local Government Discussion on Potential Submittals
August 2023	Draft Submittal List (Board Action Required)
August – September 2023	Public Comment on Draft Submittal List
October 2023	Final Submittal List (Board Action Required)
March 2024	Data Review
May 2024	Local Input Point Methodology Adoption (Board Action Required)
May 2024	Statewide Mobility Projects Programmed
June 2024	Draft Local Input Assignment for Regional Impact Projects
June – August 2024	Public Comment on Draft Local Input Point Assignment for Regional Impact Projects
August 2024	Final Local Input Point Assignment for Regional Impact Projects
September 2024	Regional Impact Projects Programmed
September 2024	Draft Local Input Point Assignment for Division Needs Projects
September – November 2024	Public Comment on Draft Local Input Point Assignment for Division Needs Projects
November 2024	Final Local Input Point Assignment for Division Needs Projects
January 2025	Draft 2026 – 2035 TIP/STIP Released
June 2025	Final 2026 – 2035 TIP/STIP (Board Action Required)

Click Here to see the Local Input Point Methodology for P7

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SPOT 7.0 Project Submittals

Below is a complete list of new projects that were submitted by the MPO in October 2023 to compete for funding the SPOT process.

To see the list of carryover projects (projects submitted in prior rounds of SPOT that were not awarded funding, that will compete alongside new submittals for funding in SPOT 7.0) click here

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For more information on NCDOT’s SPOT Process click here

For more information regarding the development of the 2026 – 2035 STIP click here