Ohio’s $3 Billion Transportation Plan Continues to Advance with Advisory Council Approval

AASHTO Journal, 2 August 2013

Ohio Department of Transportation is one step closer to a $3 billion state investment toward critical highway projects to ease congestion and delays, thanks to unanimous approval by the state’s Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) last week.

The investment was outlined in Gov. John Kasich’s “Jobs and Transportation Plan,” which commits the $3 billion in state, local, federal, and Ohio Turnpike dollars to more than 40 “key” transportation projects across the state. About $1.5 billion of that $3 billion total will come from bonds backed by Turnpike profits. The plan is estimated to create up to 60,000 jobs and grow the state’s economy.

“The governor’s plan not only helps generate $3 billion for Ohio’s economically critical highway system, but it accelerates needed projects in some cases by decades and it does it without a tax increase,” said ODOT Director and TRAC Chair Jerry Wray in a statement. “It’s an innovative approach that shakes up the status quo in a way that Ohio needs and I appreciate TRAC’s strong support so the plan can move forward.”

TRAC’s approval means that the plan will enter a public comment period for a few weeks, and ODOT officials can present some of those identified projects to the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission. Final approval of the project list will be made by TRAC in September, and ODOT says some projects could see groundbreaking as early as this year. All projects receiving funding from the Jobs and Transportation Plan can be found here.

Further information on Ohio’s Jobs and Transportation Plan is available here.​​

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