What will transportation look like in the Mat-Su Valley over the next four years? Which projects should move forward? And how do we make sure transportation investments reflect the needs of the people who live, work, and travel here?
The Mat-Su Valley Planning for Transportation is known as the MVP. The MVP invites you to review and comment on its draft Federal Fiscal Year 2027 through 2030 Transportation Improvement Program, or TIP.
The public comment period is open through Sunday, November 29.
What is a TIP? Why does it matter?
Let’s start with the big picture.
The Mat-Su Valley is growing. The transportation decisions we make today will shape how our communities connect, move, and grow for years to come. The MVP has a Metropolitan Transportation Plan. It is known as Mat-Su 2050. It is the region’s long-range transportation roadmap. It looks ahead 20 plus years. Mat-Su 2050 identifies transportation needs, priorities, and potential improvements that will help guide how our region moves into the future.
Mat-Su 2050 considers the range of transportation needs. This includes roadways, public transit services, bicycle and pedestrian connections, and transportation safety concerns. It brings together local governments, Tribal governments, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, community organizations, and the public to identify where improvements are needed and what matters most to the region.
Think of Mat-Su 2050 as the big-picture plan. It identifies transportation priorities and establishes a long-term vision for the Valley.
The Transportation Improvement Program, or TIP, takes that vision one step closer to becoming reality. The TIP is MVP’s four-year plan for federally funded transportation projects in the Mat-Su Valley. It looks at projects identified in the short-term planning horizon of Mat-Su 2050. It identifies which projects are moving forward toward design and construction in the near term.
If Mat-Su 2050 is the roadmap for where we want to go over the next 20 plus years, the TIP identifies the steps we are taking over the next four years to get there.
The TIP connects long-range transportation planning with project development and investment. It ensures that transportation projects receiving federal funding are aligned with the region’s established goals and priorities identified in the Mat-Su 2050.
It’s important to understand what the TIP is not.
The TIP is not a complete list of every transportation project that might happen in the Mat-Su Valley. It is not a guarantee that every project listed will be constructed within the four-year period. It does not represent a final construction schedule or exact project budgets.
Instead, the TIP identifies federally funded projects that are expected to advance through the transportation development process during the next four years.
The MVP wants to hear your thoughts on the TIP!
Public input is an important part of transportation planning. This is an opportunity to make your voice heard whether you’re concerned about roadway safety, interested in improving connections for people walking and biking, rely on public transportation, or want to see your community’s transportation needs represented.
MVP encourages residents, commuters, business owners, and anyone who travels throughout the Mat-Su Valley to take a look at the draft TIP and share feedback.
They ask folks to look at the short term project starts and to evaluate if the projects are representative of what the community needs. Your feedback will inform the next steps in the planning process. It will ensure that community perspectives are part of the conversation about the Valley’s transportation future.
To learn more or comment on the TIP, visit mvpmpo.com
Again, the public comment period is open through Sunday, November 29.
MVP Executive Director Kim Sollien wrote this Page Two article and yours truly, Lee Henrikson produced it. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.
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That’s it for today and the news on Page Two on Friday November 6, 2026.