Maryland Department of Transportation

Priority Letter Guidance 

The purpose of this site is to provide guidance to local jurisdictions on the Priority Letter process for sharing local transportation priorities. With this guidance, MDOT has sought to maintain the flexibility that localities have enjoyed in the past while also ensuring that essential information is clearly identified.

MDOT currently offers two ways for local governments to submit Priority Letters for consideration of projects for the FY 2027 - FY 2032 Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP):

  1. Online Form: Priority Letters may be submitted through our online form. The form incorporates both opportunities for narrative descriptions of local transportation goals and structured fields for listing priorities across key funding or project categories, including the opportunity to identify projects for feasibility study. Or,

  2. Traditional Submission: Localities can submit Priority Letters in the way they have traditionally been submitted in the past. (Address information is provided below under the FAQ's)
Regardless of the method chosen, Priority Letters are due each year to MDOT by April 1st.

As always, Priority Letters should be endorsed by the Commissioners/Council (and/or County Executive, as appropriate), as well as a majority of the local legislative delegation, and should reflect the State transportation goals and the local goals.

Questions
Questions about the Priority Letter submittal process can be directed to [email protected].

Resources
Priority Letter Submission Online Form One Stop
One Stop Registration Process
Priority Letter Map with current Priority Letters
Priority Letter Map with historic, archived Priority Letters

Frequently Asked Questions

Why send a priority letter to MDOT?
These letters publicly express to MDOT local priorities for major capital projects so those needs can be included in decision making on our budget. Each year, the Capital Transportation Program (CTP), the six-year capital budget for State transportation projects, will be revised based on these letters, State needs, State goals and funding availability.

What is the Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP)?
The CTP is Maryland's six-year capital budget for transportation projects. The Capital Program includes major and minor projects for the Maryland Department of Transportation and its modal agencies. The CTP is the comprehensive list of transportation investments to be made by the State of Maryland. Each year, MDOT publishes the State Report on Transportation (SRT). The SRT contains three important documents: the Maryland Transportation Plan (MTP), the Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP), and the annual Attainment Report (AR) on Transportation System Performance.

How is the CTP Developed?
A Draft CTP is published by September 1st of each year, and the final CTP is published by the third Wednesday in January as part of the Governor’s Budget to the Legislature. In order for the local jurisdictions to express their transportation capital project priorities and be considered for the Draft CTP, the Priority Letters are due each year to MDOT by April 1st.

What is best way to format my priority letter?
There is no required Priority Letter format or layout, however the Online Form is formatted using different fields to help make sure that important information about your transportation priorities, such as needed safety, system preservation, pedestrian projects, or feasibility studies, are captured. If you opt to not use the portal we recommend reviewing the online form for reference, and if possible, structuring your Priority Letter to be consistent with that framework.

What is the structure of the online form?
The structure of the Online Form allows for narrative description of the local priorities:

  • For questions 2-9, please list the jurisdiction's priority projects in ranked order, with #1 as the highest priority. Please limit responses to 4 lines of text per priority.
  • Please include the following information in the description of the priority: location, need, proposed improvements, and, as applicable, partners and/or existing funding. Including project purpose, needs and limits are critical in helping the Department to better understand the location and reason for the proposed priority project. An example of a priority project description is provided below:
    • MD XX (Cross Street 1 to Cross Street 2) Bike/Pedestrian Improvements - MD XX from Cross Street 1 to Cross Street 2 has high rates of crashes involving cyclists and pedestrians. The County seeks to increase safety by installing new sidewalks and bike lanes in both directions of MD XX. The proposed project is identified in Corridor Study A.
      1. What are the jurisdiction’s goals related to transportation policies and spending?
      2. What are the jurisdiction’s priority projects for system preservation/state of good repair?
      3. What are the jurisdiction’s priority projects for new capacity or capacity expansion projects?
      4. What are the jurisdiction’s priority projects for feasibility studies?
      5. What are the jurisdiction’s priority projects for safety projects?
      6. What are the jurisdiction’s priority projects for bike/pedestrian and/or complete streets projects?
      7. What are the jurisdiction’s priority projects for Transit-Oriented Development projects?
      8. What are the jurisdiction’s priorities for smaller interventions (generally under $5 million total cost)? Examples might include new striping, flex posts, addition of a stop sign or streetlight, signal retiming, or transportation demand management (e.g., vanpools) investments.
      9. What are the jurisdiction’s other transportation priorities that do not fit in the categories listed above?
      10. Across all of the categories listed above, what are the jurisdiction's top five overall transportation project priorities?
      11. What are the jurisdiction’s priorities for housing and economic development and where is it anticipated to occur?
  • If the jurisdiction has submitted a Priority Letter through different means, you may upload a digital copy of the letter at the end of the form.

Who should participate in the priority letter development process?
Priority Letters should be coordinated amongst all local jurisdictions with planning, public works and economic staff. Priority Letters should be endorsed by the Commissioners/ Council (and/or County Executive as appropriate), as well as a majority of the local legislative delegation.

What types of projects should be included in Priority Letter requests?
The Department encourages multi-modal submissions, including transit, pedestrian, and bicycle needs, to enable local governments to have a greater impact on all State transportation investment decisions.

Should the priority letter explain how requested projects are consistent with larger transportation goals?
Yes, Priority Letters should detail how each project supports the goals of the Maryland Transportation Plan (MTP) and are consistent with the County’s land use plan goals. The four MTP goals are:

  • Enhance Safety and Security: Protect the safety and security of all residents, workers, and visitors.
  • Deliver System Quality: Deliver a reliable, high-quality, integrated transportation system.
  • Serve Communities and Support the Economy: Expand transportation options to allow Maryland’s diverse communities to access opportunities and to support the movement of goods.
  • Promote Environmental Stewardship: Minimize and mitigate the environmental effects of transportation.

When should Priority Letters be submitted to MDOT?
Priority Letters are due each year to MDOT by April 1st. Letters received after this date will still be reviewed but will give MDOT less time to be responsive to local priorities.

Should a Priority Letter include projects that aren’t fully designed?
Yes, Priority Letters should clearly articulate requests for feasibility studies, which are requests for initial studies to help guide future project planning and development in locations where not much work has been so far. For instance, if there is an intersection or segment of road with safety concerns and you would like help in identifying possible ways to address the issue, this would be a good candidate for a feasibility study. MDOT considers a completed feasibility study to represent approximately 10–15% of overall project design completion (i.e., concept development, purpose & need, alternatives analysis, preliminary scope definition and cost estimate). If a county or locality wants to submit a project which does not yet have those pieces of information they should request a feasibility study in their Priority Letter.

What information should a Feasibility Request include?
Request for feasibility studies should include a clear statement of the reason for requesting a feasibility study (i.e. there have been many crashes on this particular section of roadway, or this area has insufficient access, or the community is seeking to improve its pedestrian and bicycle facilities), and it should include an estimate of the project limits (start and end points).

Where can I see other county priority letters?

How does this priority letter relate to MDOT’s proposed project prioritization process?
The Priority Letter and MDOT’s project prioritization process are two separate procedures:

  • The Priority Letter process is essentially the same as it has always been. Through the Priority Letter, jurisdictions express to MDOT their full range of transportation needs/priorities including safety projects, state of good repair, feasibility studies, bike/ped projects, smaller interventions etc.
  • MDOT’s proposed project prioritization process (being introduced in the 2026 legislative session) is a separate process meant to replace the Chapter 30 scoring process and applies only to new capacity surface transportation projects costing more than $5 million (more information can be found here). The project prioritization process has a separate portal where new capacity projects costing more than $5 million are submitted individually for consideration whereas the Priority Letter is a listing of all the projects. To submit individual new capacity projects for scoring under the project prioritization process, the project must have a minimum amount of design and cost estimation already completed—which generally comes from a feasibility study.

    This feasibility study is the main point of connection between these two otherwise separate processes. Priority Letters are where localities may request that MDOT conduct feasibility studies. In the event that the new prioritization process is adopted into law, the feasibility study process will proceed as follows:

    Each year in the CTP, MDOT will make public the amount of funding available to conduct feasibility studies. MDOT will then accept requests for feasibility studies from localities through their Priority Letter. MDOT will evaluate internal and external requests against selection criteria that will include relationship to MDOT and local priorities, projected study costs, geographic distribution and other factors. Final criteria will be published when/if MDOT’s proposed prioritization process is adopted into law. Those feasibility studies that are selected for MDOT funding will be funded and executed by MDOT. Once a feasibility study is conducted, the project will be ready for submission to the project prioritization process.


    • The anticipated priority letter and project prioritization timeline is as follows:
    • April 1, 2026 – Deadline for localities to submit their Priority Letters.
    • January 2027 – Project prioritization process portal opens. (More information on the project prioritization process can be found here)

Whom can I contact for assistance?

  • Dan Janousek– Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Calvert County, Caroline County, Carroll County, Dorchester County, Harford County, Howard County, Kent County, Queen Anne’s County, Somerset County, St. Mary’s County, Talbot County, Wicomico County, Worcester County: [email protected], 410-865-1098, or toll-free in Maryland at 888-813-1414
  • Kari Snyder – Charles County, Frederick County, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County: [email protected], 410-865-1305, or toll-free in Maryland at 888-813-1414
  • Shawn Kiernan – Allegany County, Garrett County, Cecil County, Washington County: [email protected], 410-865-2775, or toll-free in Maryland at 888-813-1414

Where can I send a hard copy of my county priority letter?
Hard copies of Priority Letters are not needed if you filled out the Priority Letter Form in One Stop, however, hard copies of Priority Letters can be sent to:

Attn: The Secretary's Office
Maryland Department of Transportation
7201 Corporate Center Drive
Hanover, MD 21076