Successful implementation of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) in rural settings is made possible by two critical and interrelated building blocks—a regional architecture and a deployment plan. A regional transportation architecture provides the conceptual framework identifying how intelligent transportation systems may be designed and operated. The deployment plan uses the transportation needs and ITS services identified in the regional architecture, designs projects based on these needs and services, and organizes them into an implement-able plan. A third component of successful implementation of ITS is a peer-review process in which the regional architectures and deployment plans are carefully assessed to ensure the state department of transportation’s need are met and the plan conforms to the national state-of-the-practice. The Western Transportation Institute will provide peer review on behalf of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) of ITS architecture and planning deliverables prepared by a consulting firm for two of Michigan’s more rural areas—the Grand and Superior regions. Through this review, WTI will ensure that all transportation needs are considered and that existing ITS-type elements and systems are inventoried. WTI will review the outreach process that helps constituents unfamiliar with ITS to learn about potential applications and benefits and will act as support during the consensus-building process when addressing regional transportation challenges and how they could be addressed using ITS. The Western Transportation Institute will also be involved in reviewing the outreach process as it pertains to promoting partnerships between ITS implementers and operations.