Freight Movement Plan

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) updates its Freight Movement Plan (FMP) under the guidance of federal requirements to propose strategies, recommend policies, and identify projects to improve multimodal freight movement while fostering sustainable economic growth and competitiveness.

The plan reviews current and future trends in freight transportation and maintains a project-specific investment plan in order to receive federal transportation funding for projects that improve freight mobility.

How is the FMP used?

The final goals, objectives, and action plan guide state and regional planning and programming processes such as:

PennDOT's 12-Year Program (TYP), which includes a fiscally constrained list of funded projects that will be delivered over the next 12 years;
Pennsylvania Interstate Steering Committee (ISC), which works with Commonwealth and Federal partners to prioritize and re-evaluate projects during TYP updates; and,
Metropolitan and Rural Planning Organization freight planning studies and initiatives.

Successful implementation is tracked through the biennial Transportation Performance Report, which measures progress on the state of the multimodal transportation system.

Plan Implementation

PennDOT is responsible for advancing the plan’s goals and objectives. A short-term action plan has been developed to track implementation and establish a systemic approach to the reporting, follow-through, and communications of the final plans.

Public and stakeholder outreach continues to play a key role in the plans' implementation. Public feedback on the implementation process will be requested on a recurring basis through the State Transportation Commission's biennial survey and reported on in conjunction with the development of the Transportation Performance Report. For details about future public outreach opportunities go to the PennDOT Planning webpage or sign up to receive our newsletters penndotplanning@pa.gov.

Freight Movement Plan Planning Process

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Develop Profile and Analysis
- Review freight-centric plans developed by PennDOT and the Planning Partners to identify needs and future planning scenarios.
- Develop Regional Freight Profiles.
- Establish Freight Plan Advisory Group.
Draft Goals Objectives and Measures
- Use data analysis to form the development of goals, objectives and measures with an emphasis on National Multimodal Freight Network & National Highway Freight Program goals.
- Consult Freight Plan Advisory Group.
- Educate and obtain feedback: Gather feedback from stakeholders; Consult Freight Plan Advisory Group.
Identify Initial Strategies and Analyze Alternatives
- Identify critical multimodal facilities and corridors and build a user-friendly database of freight facilities and resources.
- Consult Freight Plan Advisory Group.
Develop Projects Initiatives, Investment Priorities and Actions
- Develop draft plan that outlines priority projects and describes how federal freight funds would be invested and matched and how private partners can help.
- Educate and obtain feedback: Gather feedback from stakeholders; Consult Freight Plan Advisory Group.
Draft Statewide Freight Plan with Fiscally Constrained Investment Plan
- Develop draft plan that outlines priority projects strategies and actions and describes how federal freight funds would be invested and matched and how private partners can help.
- Educate and obtain feedback: Share with Freight Plan Advisory Group for feedback.
Finalize Freight Plan, Implement and Track Performance and Progress
- Finalize Freight Plan and share with stakeholders and the public.