COLUMBUS – Ohio’s new 10.5-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax increase took effect Monday, the state’s first gas tax hike in 13 years.
The increase was included in the two-year transportation budget approved earlier this year by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Mike DeWine, who wanted an 18-cent-a-gallon increase to pay for bridge and highway projects.
Ohioans will now pay a state tax rate of 38.5 cents per gallon on gas and 47 cents a gallon on diesel fuel.
The new tax is reportedly expected to generate $550 million a year for the state transportation department and another $300 million for cities, counties and townships, funding projects such as the upgrade to the I-70/I-721 interchange in downtown Columbus.
The $2 billion Ohio spent on projects to maintain or replace roads and bridges across the state this year comes from the state and federal motor fuel tax, Ohio Department of Transportation director Jack Marchbanks said.
“Those who use our roads and bridges pay to maintain and improve them. Unfortunately, as the costs of maintaining and building roads and bridges continued to go up, revenues from the state motor fuel tax, a user fee, did not. However, the new transportation budget, which takes effect on Monday, includes additional revenues that will allow Ohio to continue moving forward,” Marchbanks said.
Since 1990, truck traffic in Ohio has increased by 66 percent and passenger vehicle traffic is up 41 percent as the state’s population grew by 7.4 percent, Marchbanks said.
Marchbanks says the gas tax increase will allow the department to spend approximately $158 million on nearly 250 highway safety projects, making Ohio’s safety program the third largest in the nation behind only California and Texas.
“To some, orange barrels may mean frustration and delay, but they’re really a sign of progress and a growing economy in our state,” he said Marchbanks.
ODOT officials cited the North Side Mega Fix project at I-270, State Route 315 and U.S Route 23, which wrapped up in 2017, as an example. The project that began in 2013 included construction of Ohio’s first highway trench and the re-configuration of I-270 between US 23 and SR 315, creating new ramps in that Marchbanks says eliminated weaving traffic on the interstate and reduced congestion at the interchanges.
The number of crashes reported on the Outerbelt, from west of 315 to east of 23, fell from 330 crashes in 2012 to just over 200 last year, a 37-percent reduction, he said.
“Without [the] increased funding all new projects like this were off the table,” said ODOT District 6 deputy director Mitch Blackford.
Two recently completed interchange projects in Fairfield and Licking counties have increased safety for drivers.
Construction began in 2014 on the Carroll interchange on U.S. Route 33 in Fairfield County, where 28 accidents were reported that year, and the Cherry Valley Road/State Route 16 interchange in Licking County, the scene of 50 crashes in 2014. Since the completion of the projects, Marchbanks says crashes are down by 76 percent at Cherry Valley and 71 percent at Carroll while congestion has been reduced at both locations.
Of the more than 1,000 projects on ODOT’s 2019 construction calendar, 90 percent are intended to maintain or improve over 5,000 miles of roadway and nearly 900 bridges, Marchbanks said.