Overall Work Program (OWP)

The Overall Work Program (OWP) describes the budget, allocation, and use of federal and state transportation planning funds in the Bay Area for each fiscal year.

Credit
Karl Nielsen

MTC is a federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) that serves the nine Bay Area counties.

The Overall Work Program (OWP) describes the agency’s transportation planning objectives and assigns the institutional responsibility and funding to complete the work for the region.

What is the Overall Work Program?

The OWP describes MTC’s use of planning money for the fiscal year. It defines the continuing, comprehensive and coordinated metropolitan planning process for the San Francisco Bay Area. The OWP:

  • Establishes transportation, air quality and other regional planning objectives;
  • Establishes the methods and timing for achieving those objectives; and
  • Identifies planning responsibilities and funding to complete the work.

The OWP also serves as a management tool for MTC. It identifies all projects and services to be provided during the year beyond those mandated by the metropolitan planning process.

An Adaptive, Working Document

The OWP is a working document — changes occur during the year to reflect priority, funding and staffing changes.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission approves the Overall Work Program annually.

Supporting Regional Goals

MTC produces documents to comply with federal planning requirements:

These plans and their corresponding policies, strategies and investments align with the federal planning factors, which guide the scope of the metropolitan planning process:

Federal Planning Factors

  • Support the economic vitality of the metropolitan area, especially by enabling global competitiveness, productivity and efficiency
  • Increase the safety of the transportation system for all travelers
  • Increase the security of the transportation system for all travelers
  • Increase the accessibility and mobility of people and freight
  • Protect and enhance the environment, promote energy conservation, improve the quality of life and promote consistency between transportation improvements and state and local planned growth and economic development patterns
  • Enhance the integration and connectivity of the transportation system, across and between modes, for people and freight
  • Promote efficient systems of management and operation
  • Emphasize the preservation of the existing transportation system
  • Improve the resiliency and reliability of the transportation system and reduce or mitigate storm water impacts on surface transportation
  • Enhance travel and tourism

Alignment with Plan Bay Area Goals

This OWP describes the tasks and products proposed by the region to implement the vision of Plan Bay Area 2050 to ensure that by the year 2050 the Bay Area is affordable, connected, diverse, healthy, and vibrant for all.

Development of the OWP

The OWP includes Caltrans’ Unified Work Program and transportation and air quality planning activities proposed for the region for the state fiscal year, July 1 through June 30.

The OWP is developed in consultation and coordination with: