In an effort to increase mobility in southeastern New England, the State of Rhode Island, in cooperation with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, entered into the Pilgrim Partnership Agreement (PPA) in 1988. Pursuant to the PPA, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) sub-allocates Federal formula funding to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in exchange for commuter rail service to Providence, Rhode Island. The South County Commuter Rail Project (SCCR) is a continuation of the bi-state goal to improve mobility within the shared corridor. RIDOT has identified the need to extend commuter rail service to meet the travel demand in the South County area. Specifically, the locally stated goals of the Transit Improvement Plan (Rhode Island Transportation 2025 Ground Transportation Plan 2004 Update) are to:

• Reduce congestion, improve safety, and provide intermodal connections in the Interstate 95 and Route 1/Route 4 corridors;



• Provide needed intermodal connections to T.F. Green Airport at Warwick Intermodal Station;



• Support RIDOT's ongoing commitment to maintain and improve the existing highway and rail infrastructure rather than invest in additional roadway capacity, and



• Support the State of Rhode Island objectives of using transportation to attain regional economic development goals by providing opportunities to attract new commercial development, including the Warwick Redevelopment District at T.F. Green Airport.