The Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) is a long-term blueprint of a region’s transportation system. Usually RTPs are conducted every five years and are plans for thirty years into the future. The plan identifies and analyzes transportation needs of the metropolitan region and creates a framework for project priorities. These plans are normally the product of recommendations and studies carried out and put forth by a Metropolitan planning organization (MPO). MPOs were formed under the 1962 Federal-Aid Highway Act and are required for any urban area with a population of greater than 50,000.