The urban 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 over 50,000 population to be the product of a continuing, comprehensive and cooperative planning process.



After the 2000 U.S. Census, the Gainesville Urban Area (2000 census population 88,680) was designated. [click here for map] The urban area jurisdictions of Flowery Branch, Gainesville, Oakwood and Hall County joined together to support the designation of the Hall County Planning Department as host of the new MPO, and that designation was approved by the Governor on February 25, 2003.

An orientation and organizational meeting of the new GHMPO was held on January 9, 2004, and the MPO immediately set to work to develop its first set of planning documents, culminating in the adoption of our first Long Range Transportation Plan and Transportation Improvement Program in December 2004. Subsequently we have adopted a 2006-2011 Transportation Improvement Program – short range list of funded projects – in March of 2006.