Work on the MTP started in February 2023. ARTS staff and partners began collecting socioeconomic data for the regional Travel Demand Model (TDM). The TDM is updated every five years under the direction of the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and in conjunction with the MTP. An integrated land-use and multi-modal transportation model, the TDM replicates existing travel patterns and forecasts future demand conditions based on data from various sources.

Using 2020 as the base year, ARTS staff and partners gathered population, housing, employment, and school enrollment data for each of the region’s four counties, which were divided into 1,131 Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ). Once the baseline data was confirmed, projections for the year 2055 were made. The baseline and future year socioeconomic data were fed into the TDM, along with data related to the region’s transportation system, such as the traffic volume and capacity for every public road in the region.

A list of current and planned construction projects is also being fed into the TDM, which is scheduled to be completed in April 2025. The results of the TDM will be incorporated into the MTP.

The public outreach effort on the MTP update began immediately with plan team members engaging with the community at the annual Arts in the Heart Festival in downtown Augusta on September 20 – 22, 2024. Visitors filled out over 600 surveys during the festival. Additional surveys were collected during the Jack-O-Lantern Jubilee held in North Augusta on October 25 – 26, 2024.

Further outreach and educational opportunities will occur, including public meetings, speaker bureau engagements, and media appearances.