PHOENIX – Why is it important for you to get around to responding to the 2020 Census? One of the many reasons is especially important here at the Arizona Department of Transportation: Census results affect how we and others help you get around.

From the highways and local streets you drive to the bridges you cross to the public transportation you use, results of the 2020 Census will influence the allocation of limited transportation funding. 

“The various programs and allocation formulas are complex, but the theme is simple: You count when it comes to the 2020 Census and its importance to Arizona’s state and local transportation systems,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “That’s one more reason why participating helps ensure a brighter future for you and every other Arizonan.”

Full participation is especially important when it comes to getting Arizona’s rightful share of all types of federal funding. According to AZCensus2020.gov, each year more than $20.5 billion in federal funding to Arizona for transportation, community centers, housing, medical services and more can be tied to the census count. That’s nearly $3,000 per person per year. 

“An undercount could result in a direct loss of millions of dollars over the next decade,” said Debbie Johnson, director of the Arizona Office of Tourism and chair of the Arizona Complete Count Committee. “By responding to the Census, we can preserve the outstanding quality of life Arizona offers and plan for our future.”

In fiscal 2019, the U.S. Department of Transportation authorized nearly $737 million in federal funding for Arizona. Much of that annual allocation goes toward programs improving the national highway system, addressing congestion mitigation and air quality, and supporting metropolitan planning and surface transportation. Each of these relies to a varying degree on census data, including but not limited to population.

Also consider your local streets. Even though they aren’t part of the state highway system, full participation in the 2020 Census helps ensure that your community gets its proper share of transportation funding, not just from the federal government but through the state’s Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF).

Many of the federal transportation programs relying on census data also apply to local governments and metropolitan planning organizations. There was nearly $100 million in such funding in fiscal 2019.

Do you take the bus, light rail or trolley?  Check, check, check when it comes to the importance of population in allocating federal dollars. Population is a leading factor in how the Federal Transit Administration allocates funds for the formula grants ADOT administers for rural areas, going toward capital, planning and operating assistance. It’s also a leading way the federal government allocates formula grants for transit capital, operating assistance and planning in urban areas. 

By today, April 1, every home in Arizona will have received an invitation to participate in the 2020 Census. You can respond online, by phone and by mail.

For more information and for a link to fill out the Census online, please visit AZCensus2020.gov. You also can help by following and sharing from @AZCensus2020 on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has brought back a program made possible under state law allowing local governments to build transportation projects faster and at a lower cost by reducing red tape associated with federal funding.

The HURF Exchange Program, taking its name from the Highway User Revenue Fund, allows ADOT to exchange State Highway Fund revenues for federal Surface Transportation Block Grant Program funds with eligible local governments. ADOT is required to administer most federally funded projects, but local governments taking part in the program can now administer projects themselves, facing fewer regulatory restrictions and requirements.

“This is a win-win for the state and local communities that would otherwise have to depend on ADOT to manage their federally funded projects,” ADOT Director John Halikowski said. “Enabling local governments to administer their own projects through the HURF Exchange Program helps reduce project costs and time to completion, and allows ADOT to focus its efforts on highway projects.”

Cities, towns and unincorporated portions of counties within a regional planning area with 200,000 or fewer residents are eligible to participate in the HURF Exchange Program. Projects must be programmed as part of the HURF Exchange Program by a region’s council of governments or metropolitan planning organization, be on the federal aid system and improve the efficiency, reliability and safety of travel. ADOT will provide State Highway Fund dollars at the rate of 90 percent of the amount of federal aid programmed for eligible projects.

ADOT will review projects qualifying for the HURF Exchange Program and consult with the Federal Highway Administration to determine which federal requirements may apply. These requirements will be the responsibility of the project sponsor to fulfill and are documented in an intergovernmental agreement.

The state Legislature authorized the program in 1997, but ADOT suspended it in 2009 due to a lack of State Highway Fund revenues. Before that, the HURF Exchange Program facilitated 145 projects with a total value exceeding $90 million.

For more information on the HURF Exchange program, please visit azdot.gov/HURFExchange.