What is a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)?

In every urbanized area in the United States, a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is designated to conduct regional transportation planning and to select federally funded projects.  This MPO system was established by the federal government to give people who are affected by transportation decisions a say in how those decisions are made.

Although the State Department of Transportation has the primary role of administering the expenditure of these funds, all federally funded transportation projects in the Region must be approved by the MPO.