Orange County has developed an overall roadway improvement process. Here are the key steps:

1. Needs
2. Funding
3. Roadway Conceptual Analysis
4. Roadway Design
5. Right-of-Way Acquisition
6. Roadway Construction
7. Maintenance

The Roadway Conceptual Analysis, or RCA, process is a critical step in developing the County's overall transportation system. This process confirms the need for a roadway improvement, determines the most suitable alignment for the improvement, refines the cost estimates, and estimates the total impacts on the community and environment. The completion of this process creates a roadway "footprint" for the remaining phases.

The RCA combines the best practices of engineering and transportation planning principles for roadway improvement projects. The RCA requires extensive data collection on existing roadway conditions, such as: traffic counts and accident data, cultural, archeological, historic, natural and hydraulic features, and information on threatened and endangered plant and animal species.

Once the data collection on existing conditions is completed, it is analyzed in relation to data collected on future roadway conditions. Future roadway conditions are based on traffic forecasts, future land use plans, and utility and transportation plans.

Throughout the data collection and subsequent technical analysis, there is ongoing public involvement and input from community stakeholders, such as citizens, business owners, County Commissioners, and other affected persons and organizations.

The heart of the RCA process is the melding of technical data collection and analysis with the dialogue from citizens to produce acceptable and appropriate solutions to transportation problems. Upon approval of the RCA by the Orange County Board of County Commissioners, the project will proceed to final design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction.