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F1NAL 2008-2011 STATEWIDE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM <br />II. Development STIP (D-STIP) <br />A. Introduction to the D-STIP <br />The Oregon Transportation Commission will make the final selections for all D-STIP projects and will <br />apply a statewide perspective to the proposed list of projects, giving highest priority to OTC approved <br />federal discretionary projects that have funding secured through federal legislation. <br />It will be important to clearly articulate the rationale and need of a D-STIP project in order to help man- <br />age expectations and potential next steps. D-STIP projects will be consistent with statewide policies and <br />may be identified in one or more planning documents, such as transportation system plans, regional trans- <br />portation plans, corridor plans, comprehensive plans, refinement plans or state management systems. <br />Additionally, the OTC may select large projects of statewide significance for inclusion in the D-STIP. <br />The D-STIP includes projects approved and funded for development through specific milestones for <br />planning, environmental or project development activities and within specific timeframes. <br />The following should be considered when applying the Eligibility Criteria and Prioritization Factors: <br />• Anew alignment will be selected for one or several features in the refinement plan. Project spe- <br />cific refinement plans may be funded in the D-STIP as needed to resolve need, function, mode <br />and general location decisions that could not be made during system plan or corridor plan devel- <br />opment. In circumstances where these decisions have already been made, the goal of refinement <br />planning will be to develop a specific solution or a range of solutions to the problems(s) that sup- <br />port the next appropriate project development step. <br />• Rapid development is occurring in the area, making corridor preservation critical. <br />• Issues needing resolution have a high priority and solutions are likely to be funded in the near fu- <br />ture. <br />• The highway segment is very sensitive environmentally, and a strategy for the whole segment <br />needs to be approved before work on individual elements can commence. For example, address- <br />ing land use to help resolve inconsistencies with planned transportation facilities; planning for <br />compatible land uses along state highways. <br />• Public pressure for a sustainable decision is high. <br />Selection of D-STIP projects requires application of the D-STIP definition approved by the OTC. D- <br />STIP projects generally fall into the following three categories: federal discretionary projects (earmarks), <br />statewide significant projects, and modernization or major bridge replacement projects. <br />Statewide Significant Projects <br />Statewide significant projects are projects that require funding that cannot be achieved within standard <br />STIP allocations but are viewed by the OTC as projects of statewide significance and can be selected by <br />the OTC independent of the ACT process. Identified funds would be used to either keep existing work on <br />very large projects current, or to support development of very large projects (for example, funding a new <br />Environmental Impact Statement or updating an existing EIS). <br />Modernization or Major Bridge Replacement Projects <br />Modernization or major bridge replacement projects are projects that have been approved and funded for <br />development through specific milestones but that cannot be constructed within the four-year timeframe of <br />the STIP and/or within the normal Region STIP allocations. These may include shelf projects, which are <br />Page 342 <br />