Federal Functional Class Maps Update

The Lackawanna/Luzerne MPO staff recently took part in a kickoff meeting to update the designation of roads on the Federal Functional Class network.  The goal is to have the Functional Class maps updated after the Census in 10 year cycles.  The MPO last updated the network was in 2004.  The meeting was held at Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance (NEPA) and included staff from multiple areas of the northeast part of Pennsylvania, including staff from LLTS MPO, NEPA, Northern Tier, Federal Highways, PennDOT Central Office and District 4-0.

With the addition of new industry and developments in both counties, some roadways do not serve the same function as they have in the past.  Some roads are seeing heavier traffic as of 2016 while others have seen a decrease.  The Functional Class network changes and our goal is to capture that.  This review is for the complete network from interstate highways and expressways down to arterials, collectors and local roads.  We will use the AADT (annual average daily traffic) of each road to help guide us toward proper classification.  Collaboration with the other staff members will prove to be vital considering these roadways not only affect our MPO but function across MPO and RPO borders.  Thank you to all the agencies that took part in this meeting and your help throughout the process.

As we are in the process of functional class updates, within that program we are preparing to designate Critical Urban Freight Corridors (CUFC) and Critical Rural Freight Corridors (CRFC) to the National Highway Freight Network (NHFH). We will be reviewing average daily truck traffic, access to freight facilities within specific roadways that provide freight mobility and networking within Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties. Once we gather candidate CUFC/CRFC  road segments for submission to Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for review we must provide our selections  with a description and justification of how they meet the requirements under 23 U.S.C. 167(e) and (f). (FAST Act 1116; 23 U.S.C. 167(g)). The classifying of new road segments within CUFC/CRFC will expand the states National Highway Freight Network and permit the possibility for extending funding with the National Highway Freight Program (NHFP).