Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan

WSDOT is working on a new edition of the Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan (SMTP). The SMTP is the state’s federally compliant long-range transportation plan, based on the Legislature's six transportation policy goals. This 20-year plan guides short-term investments and provides long-range strategy, implementing the state’s vision for transportation set by the Washington Transportation Plan (WTP). The SMTP connects performance measures to policy, analyzes intermodal connections and opportunities for multimodal investment, and addresses the challenges of a growing population, climate change, and financial constraints. This plan is WSDOT’s future facing blueprint for a resilient and efficient transportation system – for all users and modes - that supports preservation, safety, mobility, stewardship, economic vitality and the environment.

Plan scope

The scope of the new SMTP includes four broad components: engagement, technical content, narrative content and a financial plan.

Engagement

WSDOT will coordinate and engage with communities, tribes, the Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC), Metropolitan and Regional Transportation Planning Organizations (MPOs/RTPOs) and internal program and plan leads. The SMTP and the Transportation Carbon Reduction Strategy (TCRS) will share the advisory committee to reduce stakeholder burden and ensure consistent input across emissions reduction and multimodal planning topics. Engagement tactics range from listening sessions and focus groups to targeted outreach with community-based organizations, under Title VI, HEAL and ADA-compliant practices.

Technical content

Data collection and analysis will help us produce several technical memos that focus on what investments can be delivered with different amounts of funding and the associated performance.

Narrative content

The plan will support the technical content with a narrative that helps explain why transportation system investments are important, who benefits from those investments and how this plan will be implemented.

Financial plan

The SMTP will be fiscally constrained, limiting the investments the plan recommends to the resources we reasonably expect to have between now and 2050. This work involves extending the existing 10-year transportation revenue forecast based on current law revenue.

Project timeline

Plan development work began in 2025 and is expected to conclude in Summer 2027. Here is what we are working on now and in the future:

Spring and early summer 2026 – Discovery

• Start data collection and analysis, financial assessment and internal coordination. 
• Develop community engagement plan and start statewide advisory committee with external partners.

July to September 2026 – Early deliverables

• Deliver existing conditions and needs technical memo and financial assessment technical memo. 
• Finalize community engagement plan, start gathering stakeholder feedback on needs and priorities and start engaging with community organizations. 
• Launch interactive engagement page. 

September to December 2026 – Draft plan

• Integrate findings from memos and produce the draft plan. 
• Share the draft plan publicly to collect feedback. 
• Continue engagement to build a coalition around plan recommendations.

June 2027 – Adopt plan

• Integrate feedback from the public draft, secure executive approval and publish the final plan.

Washington Transportation Plan

WSDOT’s current federally compliant long-range transportation plan is the Washington Transportation Plan Phase 2 – Implementation 2017-2040 (PDF 18.3MB). This plan applies key policy recommendations from the WSTC Washington Transportation Plan (PDF 2.7MB) to guide improvements to the state’s transportation system through four focus areas and 11 action items.

The WTP is the statewide long-range transportation policy plan developed by the Washington State Transportation Commission. It provides an overarching transportation policy framework along with strategies for use by state, regional, and local jurisdictions and entities statewide who publish a transportation plan or operate a form of transportation. This policy plan was completed by the WSTC in 2025.