Central midlands council of governments (cmcog) intends to hire a qualified consultant or team to prepare a cmcog dutch fork connector/sub area plan that delivers the outcomes expected to result…

The Federal Transit Administration awarded the Central Midlands Council of Governments (CMCOG) $312,500 under the Federal Transit Formula Grants program (CFDA 20.507) on July 8, 2026, to prepare a comprehensive Dutch Fork Connector/Sub Area Plan for the Central Midlands Region.

CMCOG will develop the plan in coordination with the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority (CMRTA) and the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT). The plan will deliver short-term, medium-term, and long-term strategies and guidance for future investments to facilitate mobility of transit, pedestrians, and vehicles within and through the Central Midlands Region, which encompasses Richland, Lexington, Fairfield, and Newberry counties. Stakeholder and public outreach will be a significant element of the planning process, obtained through provider surveys, focus group meetings, stakeholder interviews, and public meetings. The plan will provide input to developers on site designs that will achieve maximum walking, biking, and transit use. Performance period runs through March 30, 2034, with place of performance in South Carolina. CMCOG is partnering with the COMET, the public transit provider serving primarily Richland and a small portion of Lexington County, to assist with project execution. The intended beneficiaries are the public transit provider and users of the transportation system.

Activities

Stakeholder and public outreach will be a significant element of the planning process which will be obtained through a provider survey focus group meetings stakeholder interviews and public meetings.cmcog/coats MPO in coordination with cmrta and scdot will develop the dutch fork connector/sub area plan. This project has been identified in the 2025 to 2027 unified planning work program.

Expected outcomes

The expected deliverable for this project is a comprehensive regional plan that provides project partners (public and private) with a series of short-term medium-term and long-term strategies and guidance for strategic processes and policies to guide future investments to facilitate the mobility of transit pedestrians and vehicles within and through the central midlands region.

Intended beneficiaries

The public transit provider and the users of the transportation system.

Subrecipient activities

The central midlands region includes the counties of richland lexington fairfield and newberry counties. Currently the public transportation provider serves mainly richland and a small portion of lexington county. The dutch fork area has experienced tremendous growth through residential schools and shopping facilities. The project will be managed by cmcog but we are partnering with the comet to assist US with this project.