ADOT LRTP FAQ Questions and Answers

With over 7,000 centerline miles of roadways and approximately 5,000 bridges on the existing state highway system, ensuring roads and bridges are maintained is a never-ending job. ADOT is also delivering highway widening, interchange and other needed improvement projects.    ADOT works to minimize impacts to drivers for these projects to the extent possible.

Repairing and maintaining the State Highway System is a top priority for ADOT. The current ADOT Five Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program includes approximately $1 billion in pavement preservation projects throughout the state. Even at this level of funding, ADOT is challenged to maintain pavement in good condition, particularly on non-interstate roadways. ADOT’s program must be fiscally constrained, so we must balance important needs throughout the state.  The Long Range Transportation plan sets ADOT’s priorities for how we manage limited funding to address the various needs.

With over 7,000 centerline miles of ADOT-owned roadways and approximately 5,000 bridges , ADOT has a duty to protect Arizona’s $24.4 billion investment in the state highway system. The Long Range Transportation Plan helps set Arizona’s priorities when it comes to expanding,  preserving and modernizing the system  to balance what can be built, versus what needs to be repaired, maintained or upgraded to meet state and federal standards.

ADOT uses a Planning to Programming (P2P) process to prioritize projects on the state highway system. Projects are prioritized for implementation in the ADOT Five Year Transportation Facilities Program based on specific performance criteria and ADOT's overall funding priorities established in the Long Range Transportation Plan. ADOT must identify, track, and report on these performance measures to the Federal Highway Administration.

ADOT’s primary role is to plan, build and maintain the State Highway system. While ADOT does apply for certain federal discretionary grants for certain projects, it is not within ADOT’s purview to seek new transportation funding methods; that is a policy decision by the Governor and legislature.

ADOT does not determine funding levels for public transit; ADOT essentially serves as a pass-through agency to distribute federal transit funding to Arizona transit providers.  Funding is distributed throughout the state including rural public transit needs, elderly and persons with disabilities, small urban area needs and transit planning throughout the state. Funding from other sources - such as city and county transportation taxes - does not pass through ADOT and goes to transit agencies through a variety of other governing bodies.