The Radcliff – Elizabethtown Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is a transportation policy-making organization made up of representatives from local government and transportation authorities. The Federal Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1973 required the formation of a MPO for any urbanized area with a population greater than 50,000. MPOs were created in order to ensure that existing and future expenditures for transportation projects and programs are based on a comprehensive, cooperative, and continuing (3-C) planning process. Federal funding for transportation projects and programs are channeled through this planning process.
The Radcliff – Elizabethtown urbanized area had a 2000 population of 64,504. The MPO planning area includes the cities of Radcliff, Elizabethtown, Vine Grove, West Point, Muldraugh, and Brandenburg. The area also includes portions of unincorporated Hardin and Meade counties and the Fort Knox Military Reservation.
The core functions of the MPO are the development and maintenance of a Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) and a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The MPO will also be responsible, as necessary, for dealing with issues such as air quality, freight movement, public participation, environmental justice, safety, and environmental concerns.