WHAT IS THE S/WMPO?

The primary mission of the Salisbury/Wicomico Metropolitan Planning Organization (S/WMPO) is to perform transportation planning by establishing regional consensus on transportation planning, projects, and programs following prevailing federal transportation guidelines. The S/WMPO coordinates with appropriate authorities and departments of all impacted state and local governments in an effort to assist with solving regional problems and implement regional goals and policies.

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The transportation planning process administered by Metropolitan Planning Organizations was born in the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1962, which required all federally assisted projects in urban areas with a population over 50,000 to be the product of a continuing, comprehensive and cooperative planning process.

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The US Census Bureau, after each decennial census, uses data collected to determine the boundaries of Urbanized Areas (UZA's). For more information on the metropolitan transportation planning process, click here or see 23 U.S.C. 134.

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S/WMPO was designated by former Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich on February 19, 2004, after the 2000 Census indicated the criteria for an urbanized area and the establishment of a MPO had been met. The urbanized area was expanded in 2010 and now includes the municipalities of Laurel, Blades, and Seaford in Delaware, and Hebron in Maryland. The metropolitan planning area  boundary includes Wicomico and Somerset Counties Maryland and Sussex County Delware. S/WMPO's Prospectus and Bylaws are available for download here.

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