Performance Measures
What is Performance Management?
Federal transportation legislation, beginning with the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (Map-21) Act, and continuing with the FAST Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs (IIJA) Act, has directed state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to develop their long-range transportation plans and four-year Transportation Improvement Programs through a “performance-driven, outcome-based approach to planning,” or an approach known as “Performance Management.” When implemented effectively, performance management can improve project delivery, inform investment decisions, and provide greater transparency and accountability. The core of this approach is the use of performance measures and performance targets to evaluate how well our transportation system is functioning.
What are Performance Measures?
The federal transportation legislation laid the foundation for a “performance-driven, outcome-based approach to planning” by outlining seven national goals for the transportation network. To achieve the national goals, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has required states and MPOs to monitor their transportation systems using specific performance measures. These measures will be used to identify progress in achieving the performance targets described above.
The measures were released in three groups, and each category with its respective performance measures can be seen in the table below.
PM1, has five measures that are related to safety. Download this file to view a history of the PM1 targets as well as the actual numbers for the last several years: Historical Safety (PM1) Targets and Actuals
PM2 has six measures that are related to infrastructure conditions, specifically related to pavement and bridge conditions.
PM3 has seven measures that address system performance, including system reliability, freight movement and environmental sustainability.
What are Performance Targets?
After establishing the performance measures, federal transportation legislation requires each state DOT to set a performance target for each measure that must be achieved within a given period. Each target is set based upon recent performance trends in conjunction with forecasted changes in population, employment, vehicle-miles traveled, and other factors affecting system performance. At the conclusion of each period, the state DOT must report to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) its progress toward achieving its targets for each measure.
MPOs are given a choice to either set their own performance measures and respective targets or agree to support the statewide targets. To date, the Birmingham MPO has opted to support the Alabama DOT statewide targets.
How Are Performance Targets Updated?
Each set of targets will be regularly updated to reflect changes in system conditions and performance. Safety targets (PM1) have a one-year reporting period and must be updated annually. All other targets (PM2 and PM3) have two- and four-year reporting periods and must be updated every two years. Whenever the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) updates its targets, the Birmingham MPO will adopt a resolution to support these new targets.
The most recently adopted performance measures are shown below.
latest adopted targets
Click here to download MPO Resolution 2023-5 Highway Safety Improvement Program (PM1) Targets - adopted November 8, 2023.
Actual numbers and historical safety targets - click here.
All of the latest Targets and Resolutions are shown in an annual Systems Performance Report - click here for the 2024 report.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES AGREEMENT WITH ALDOT AND BJCTA
A copy of the September 21, 2022 Alabama Performance Management Agreement between ALDOT, the Birmingham MPO and BJCTA related to transportation performance data sharing and coordination can be found here.
FHWA website - Transportation Performance Management
Why is Performance Management Important?
With limited transportation funds and a long (and growing) list of infrastructure needs, it is critical that we prioritize projects that achieve the greatest improvements to our system. The best way to do this is to select performance measures and targets, and then prioritize projects that help us achieve those targets.
At the conclusion of each reporting period, FHWA will determine whether ALDOT has met or made significant progress toward achieving its targets. Failure to do so could result in penalties such as additional reporting requirements and additional restrictions on the use of funds.