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Transportation is vital to every aspect of our economy and our
personal lives. Highways, transit systems, railroads, and other
modes of transportation serve to knit our region together and
connect it with the nation and the world. SEMCOG has a vital
role in the transportation planning process as the region’s
federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).
Operating and maintaining a first-class transportation system is
very expensive, so funding is always a critical priority. SEMCOG
is in the forefront of many aspects of transportation funding,
including financial forecasting, researching innovative ways to
pay for needed improvements, and ensuring that adequate funding
is available for proposed projects. The non-local road system
and the transit system are mostly funded by a combination of
federal and state funding, although special assessments, bonds,
and other sources of funding are also used. A new federal
transportation law, MAP-21, w