Cape Cod MPO’s 2025–29 TIP programs roughly $400 million for roads, rail trail and transit

The Cape Cod Metropolitan Planning Organization presented its draft 2025–2029 Transportation Improvement Program, identifying multi-year funding for roadway projects, shared-use paths and transit capital and operating support. Staff said the five-year program includes about $400,000,000 in federal and state funds across highway and transit projects.

"And about $400,000,000 is included in total," an MPO staff member said while outlining project groupings and the funding spread across the five years. Projects highlighted for 2025 include phase 2 of the Mashpee Route 151 corridor improvements, a Dennis/Harwich Route 28/20 reconstruction and the first phase of the Bourne Rail Trail beside active rail. Future years include Provincetown’s Shank Painter Road conversion to shared-use path, multiple resurfacing and bridge-preservation projects, and intersection upgrades including proposed roundabouts and signal replacements.

Staff emphasized the TIP funds both roadway construction (Federal Highway Administration-eligible projects) and transit (Federal Transit Administration support). For transit specifically, staff said roughly $216 million is projected over five years to assist the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority with operating assistance, bus replacements, bus-stop and facility upgrades, and the transition to lower-emission vehicles.

Residents asked staff to include project numbers in listings to make it easier to locate MassDOT information; staff said job/project numbers are present in the full documents and offered to add them to the slides. Another commenter asked whether design exceptions for complete-streets requirements are being tracked; staff said the TIP and project evaluation process includes scoring elements that review bicycle/pedestrian benefits and that tracking exceptions could be raised with the MPO.

Staff reminded the public that both the UPWP and TIP drafts are currently accepting comments, that comments will be included in the public-comment matrix, and that the MPO will review the draft for possible endorsement at the May 20 meeting. The staff provided the MPO webpage and an email (transportation@capecoddcommission.org) for submitting written comments.

The TIP presentation did not include any formal votes; it was a staff briefing followed by public questions. The MPO will consider public comments and the draft program at its next scheduled meeting. If adopted, the TIP will guide which projects are prioritized for federal funding and construction over the next five years.