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The 1970 census resulted in the Parkersburg, West Virginia-Belpre, Ohio area being designated an urban area. This classification created a need, as required by United States Department of Transportation regulation, to establish a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to oversee the use of Federal Funds for transportation projects. In 1974 the Parkersburg-Belpre MPO was formed under the title of the Wood·Washington·Wirt (WWW) Interstate Planning Commission. The primary goal of the WWW was to unify the transportation planning efforts being pursued independently by various entities in Ohio and West Virginia.
Funding |
WV Department of Transportation
Ohio Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Federal Transit Administration
Local Dues of Member Governments |
Study Area |
Wood County, WV
Newport, Marietta, Fearing, Muskingum, Warren, Dunham and Belpre Townships of Washington County, Ohio |
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The WWW designated study area expands beyond the urban area boundary to encompass all of Wood County, West Virginia, and portions of Washington County, Ohio, including the townships of Newport, Marietta, Fearing, Muskingum, Warren, Dunham and Belpre. Initially, Wirt County, West Virginia was included in both the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and the transportation planning study area. When the Census Bureau excluded Wirt County from the MSA during the 1980 census, the county was eliminated from the study area. However, the official name of the organization remained the same.
WWW is governed by a Policy Board with support provided by a technical advisory committee. The Policy Board, the voting members of the organization, is comprised of Mayors from Parkersburg, Vienna, Williamstown, and North Hills in West Virginia; and from Marietta and Belpre in Ohio. Also, representatives from the Wood and Washington County Commissions serve on the Policy Board, as well as the Departments of Transportation from West Virginia and Ohio. The non-voting Technical Advisory Committee is made up of transportation officials from Ohio and West Virginia as well as representatives from various disciplines (e.g., economic development, engineering, and transit management) throughout the communities. The purpose of the committee is to provide the Policy Board with assistance on project development.
To guarantee the
transportation planning process is sustained, routine WWW meetings
are scheduled once a quarter and special meetings are held when deemed
necessary. WWW's planning methodology incorporates the traditional
continuing, cooperative and comprehensive planning process and addresses
the planning requirements established by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFET-LU). SAFET-LU
requires MPO's to develop transportation plans and programs for metropolitan
areas and to comply with the transportation related sections of the
1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA). If an area has ever been
classified as non-attainment (i.e., non-compliance with CAAA emission
standards), Federal regulations require the long range plan to be revised
triennially; otherwise, a five year revision is stipulated by the regulations. As
a result of previous non-attainment classifications, WWW must adhere
to the non-attainment guidelines.
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