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3-C

Continuing, Cooperative, and Comprehensive: By Federal regulation the APO must follow a 3-C planning process.

ADT

Average Daily Traffic: The total number of vehicles that cross a specific point along a roadway over a number of days divided by the number of days. For example, a automated traffic counter might record the following daily traffic over three days: 10,000 on day 1; 12,000 on day 2; 8,000 on day 3. The ADT is calculated thus: 10,000+12,000+8,000=30,000/3 days=10,000 vehicles (on average) per day.

ALOP

Annual Listing of Obligated Projects: A status report on transportation projects for which funding was obligated in previous years.

APO

Saint Cloud Area Planning Organization: The organization designated by agreement between the Governor, local unit of government, and relevant agencies as being responsible for carrying out the terms of 23 USC Sec. 134. The APO is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Saint Cloud urban area.

ATAC

Active Transportation Advisory Committee: A sub-committee of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) which focuses on the identifying and addressing the needs of active transportation modes such as bicycling and walking.

ATP

Area Transportation Partnership: These committees of local governments, relevant agencies, and MnDOT staff were created by MnDOT to enhance regional intergovernmental planning and increase cooperative development of the four-year State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).

CPG

Consolidated Planning Grant: A combination of planning grant funds from the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration.

CSAH

County State Aid Highway: A roadway that is operated and maintained by a county but for which the county receives state aid funding. Generally, the state views these roadways as key facilities for statewide or regional mobility.

FHWA

Federal Highway Administration: The Federal administration responsible for monitoring and facilitating the construction and maintenance of the National Highway System. The APO is a recipient of an annual planning grant from FHWA.

FTA

Federal Transit Administration: The Federal administration responsible for monitoring and facilitating the operations and capital improvement of public transit providers. The APO is a recipient of an annual planning grant from FTA.

GIS

Geographic Information Systems: A framework for gathering, managing, and analyzing spatially-related data. For example, GIS can be used to map crash reports in order to determine which roadway intersections are experiencing the highest crash rates.

IIJA

The Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (public law 117-58) signed into law on Nov. 15, 2021. Part of the law establishes federal funding authorizations for surface transportation for the years 2022-2026.

MnDOT

Minnesota Department of Transportation: The State department with which the APO coordinates on transportation issues and which has oversight responsibilities for ensuring the APO complies with applicable Federal and State requirements.

MPA

Metropolitan Planning Area: The geographic area in which the APO carries out its planning activities. The MPA must include at least the US Census-defined urban area, but may also include any additional urban or urbanizing areas and/or commuter travel-sheds as deemed appropriate by the member jurisdictions of the APO.

MPCA

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency: The State agency responsible for monitoring environmental quality and enforcing environmental regulations in Minnesota.

MPO

Metropolitan Planning Organization: An organization designated by agreement between the Governor of a state, units of local governments of an urban area, and relevant agencies as being responsible for carrying out the terms of 23 USC Sec. 134. Any urban area of more than 50,000 people must have an MPO. As of 2015, there were 408 MPOs in the United States. The Saint Cloud APO is the MPO for the Saint Cloud metropolitan area.

MTP

Metropolitan Transportation Plan: The regional transportation plan with at least a 20 year planning horizon, developed cooperatively between the units of government and relevant agencies which are members of the APO.

RFP

Request for Proposals: This is a document used to procure consultant services. The RFP outlines the goals and objectives of a project or study and provides a not-to-exceed budget. Interested consultants then respond by writing and submitting a proposal to provide the required services.

SEP

Stakeholder Engagement Plan: The document that identifies when and how the APO will engage the public during the planning process. In Federal regulations, this document is called the "Public Participation Plan." The APO's SEP also includes our Title VI and Limited English Proficiency Plan.

SRTS

Safe Routes to School: A national initiative that works to make it safe, convenient, and fun for students to walk and bike to and from school.

STBGP

Surface Transportation Block Grant Program: Flexible funding from the Federal Government that may be used by states and localities for projects to preserve and improve the conditions and performance on any Federal-aid highway, bridge or tunnel project on any public road, pedestrian or bicycle infrastructure, and transit capital purchases, including intercity bus terminals.

TA

Transportation Alternatives: Funding from the Federal Government that may be used by state and localities for projects including, but not limited to, the creation of facilities for pedestrians and bicycles, environmental mitigation or habitat protection related to highway construction or operations, as well as infrastructure and non-infrastructure related to Safe Routes to School (SRTS) activities.

TAC

Technical Advisory Committee: The TAC is a committee of planners and engineers representing the local member governments and relevant agencies which is responsible for providing technical advice and guidance to the Policy Board and APO staff.

TAZ

Traffic Analysis Zone: A geographic area used in the Travel Demand Model (TDM). TAZs are assigned socio-economic attributes such as population, number of households, square feet of commercial space, and other data relevant to trip production or attraction.

TH

Trunk Highway: A major roadway connecting two or more cities that is operated and maintained by the State Department of Transportation and is the recommended or preferred route for long-distance and freight trips. In Minnesota, Trunk Highways are numbered, such as TH-15 or TH-23 and they may also be designated as MN-15 or MN-23.

TDM

Travel Demand Model: A computer model used to forecast traffic and traffic congestion under a variety of land use and roadway network conditions.

TPMR

Transportation Performance Monitoring Report: An annual report on how the transportation networks are functioning relative to the APO's adopted performance measures. The TPMR is a product of the APO's Transportation System Performance Monitoring (TSPM) program.

TIP

Transportation Improvement Program: The document that programs Federal funding for surface transportation projects within the MPA.

TSPM

Transportation System Performance Monitoring: An APO program in which staff collect and analyze transportation performance data in order to discover problem areas and help prioritize the programming of transportation improvement projects. The Transportation Performance Monitoring Report (TPMR) is a product of the TSPM.

UPWP

Unified Planning Work Program: A Federally required statement of work identifying the planning priorities and activities to be carried out by the APO staff. The UPWP includes the APO's annual budget and it identifies any special studies and consultant contracts for the fiscal year.

CURRENT PLANS   //  TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM

TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM

FY 2026-2029 Transportation Improvement Program

For more information, contact:

 

Vicki Johnson

Senior Transportation
Planner

 

Status Update for Next TIP

 

Overview

The TIP is a multi-year program of transportation improvements for the Saint Cloud Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA). Decisions about transportation investments require collaboration and cooperation between different levels of government, neighboring jurisdictions, and agencies. As a document, the TIP reports how the various jurisdictions and agencies within the Saint Cloud MPA have prioritized their use of limited Federal highway and transit funding.

The TIP is updated annually by the APO.

Projects identified through the TIP process serve to implement the projects identified in the APO’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP).

DOWNLOAD CURRENT TIP (PDF)

Saint Cloud APO staff have also developed an online tool to display projects found within the APO’s TIP. Click HERE to view project locations within the APO’s planning area along with some of the latest information on the Federal and/or state-funded transportation projects within the Saint Cloud metro.

Learn More About the TIP

Don’t have time to read the full document but still want to know what the TIP is all about? Well, you’re in luck! Check out this explainer video on YouTube.

Status of Previously Programmed Projects

Often, transportation projects take several years to complete. So, the APO prepares an Annual Listing of Obligated Projects (ALOP) to report on the status of projects previously programmed into the TIP. Individual projects are tracked through their completion before they are removed from the list.

History of Changes to Current TIP

The TIP is updated annually. There are also several regularly scheduled TIP amendments throughout the year to address project changes such as construction delays or changes in funding sources. You can see the TIP amendment schedule by clicking HERE. Additional unscheduled amendments may also be processed if warranted and approved by the APO’s Executive Director. Administrative modifications and/or technical corrections may also be processed if changes to the document are required and meet the specific requirements outlined in the APO’s Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP).

May 15, 2026

The Saint Cloud APO’s Policy Board has approved four amendments to the APO’s FY 2026-2029 TIP on behalf of Saint Cloud Metro Bus. Click HERE to view the approved changes. Additionally, APO staff processed a technical correction to one of the projects amended to the APO’s FY 2026-2029 TIP. Click HERE to view the completed change.

April 10, 2026

The Saint Cloud APO’s Policy Board has approved two amendments to the APO’s FY 2026-2029 TIP. Click HERE to view the approved changes.

March 11, 2026

Saint Cloud APO staff have processed a technical correction to the APO’s FY 2026-2029 TIP at the request of the City of Saint Cloud. Click HERE to view the completed change.

Feb. 13, 2026

The Saint Cloud APO’s Policy Board has approved several amendments and administrative modifications to the APO’s FY 2026-2029 TIP. Click HERE to view to approved changes.

Jan. 26, 2026

Saint Cloud APO staff have processed a technical correction to the APO’s FY 2026-2029 TIP at the request of Sherburne County. Click HERE to view the completed change.

Dec. 11, 2025

Saint Cloud APO staff have processed a technical correction to the APO’s FY 2026-2029 TIP at the request of Benton County. Click HERE to view the completed change.

Dec. 5, 2025

Saint Cloud APO staff have processed several technical corrections to the APO’s FY 2026-2029 TIP at the request of Saint Cloud Metro Bus and the City of Saint Cloud. Click HERE to view the completed changes.

Sept. 4, 2025

The APO Policy Board approved the APO’s FY 2026-2029 TIP. This document supersedes the APO’s FY 2025-2028 TIP.

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Archives

Click on the photos below to access the previous TIPs. Or you can visit our ARCHIVES page to see these and other documents.

FY 2025-2028 TIP

Cover for the APO's FY 2025-2028 Transportation Improvement Program

FY 2024-2027 TIP

FY 2024-2027 Transportation Improvement Program

FY 2023-2026 TIP

FY 2023-2026 Transportation Improvement Program

FY 2022-2025 TIP

FY 2022-2025 Transportation Improvement Program

FY 2021-2024 TIP

FY 2021-2024 Transportation Improvement Program