Martin County MPO approves draft FY 2027–28 two‑year Unified Planning Work Program

The Martin County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) on April 20 approved its draft FY 2027–28 Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP), the two‑year federally required planning budget that will be finalized next month and take effect July 1.

Ricardo Vasquez, the MPO’s principal planner, told the board the UPWP “outlines all of the planning studies and activities that the MPO will conduct and it's based off of the state fiscal year from July to June.” He said staff submitted the draft to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration for review and expects to submit the final document to FHWA after addressing comments.

The draft UPWP funds continuing MPO tasks and a set of key projects. Among them, staff highlighted a bicycle, pedestrian and trails master‑plan update (the last plan was completed in 2016), a second phase of the US‑1 congestion‑management strategy (extending analysis south to Lillian Court), continued quarterly updates to the MPO’s development‑review map, and work on the Treasure Coast 2050 regional long‑range transportation plan now that individual LRTPs have been adopted by neighboring MPOs.

Board members asked about schedule and outreach; Vasquez said the MPO will document FDOT and FHWA comments and bring the final UPWP back for adoption in May. The board then moved and seconded approval of the draft UPWP; the motion passed unanimously.

What happens next: staff will respond to federal and state review comments, present the final UPWP at the May meeting for adoption, and submit the adopted document to FHWA. The budget becomes effective July 1.

Meeting context: the vote was recorded as unanimous with no roll‑call objections. No public comments were offered during the item.