COLUMBUS – A day after state lawmakers approved Ohio’s transportation budget, transportation officials rolled out their plans for what they plan to do with their dollars.
The Ohio Department of Transportation announced on Thursday that it will spend $2.3 billion on projects involving the state’s highway infrastructure, just shy of the record-$2.4 billion spent in 2014 and 2015, ODOT spokesman Matt Bruning said.
Of the total, just over $329 million will be spent on projects in central Ohio.
Central Ohio 2017 construction spending (by county)
Franklin – $192.9 million
Delaware – $43.1 million
Licking – $34.3 million
Union – $21.8 million
Fairfield – $20.9 million
Pickaway – $7.4 million
Madison – $4.9 million
Hocking – 3.2 million
Perry – $643,818
-Source: ODOT
The 2017 construction season includes paving 6,945 miles of roadway, enough for a two-lane road from Seattle to Key West, Bruning said.
“Our transportation network is Ohio’s greatest man-made asset, and it is our duty to ensure it is in the best condition possible. That’s why 93 cents of every dollar we’re spending on roads and bridges this year will go to preservation,” said ODOT Director Jerry Wray.
This year’s construction program includes 191 safety-related projects, ranging from reconfigured intersections to additional signage and signals, Wray said.
“We have seen an increase in the number of traffic deaths in Ohio over the last three years, and we are working hard to reverse this disturbing trend,” Wray said.
The Ohio House of Representatives Wednesday approved a report from a conference committee that ironed out differences between the House and Senate versions of the two-year $7.8 billion bill, which now goes to Gov. John Kasich for his signature.
Under the bill’s provisions, motorists could pay more for license plates and driver’s licenses while also noticing that speed limits on some stretches of roadway change, depending on the time of day and travel volume, lawmakers said.
The $33 million per year earmarked for new transit buses and other infrastructure improvements for the state’s public transit agencies marks a $10 million increase over current funding levels but critics say tax policy changes in the Kasich’s proposed operating budget will leave many agencies short of state support, said Kathy Foley, a member of the Ohioans for Transportation Equity coalition.
A 2015 Ohio Department of Transportation study claimed the state should be spending $120 million a year on public transit, a sizable increase over the current $7.3 million level, Foley said.
Under the bill’s provisions, ODOT will be authorized to establish variable speed limits on I-670 in Columbus, I-90 near Cleveland and I-275 in Cincinnati to manage changing traffic volume.
The proposal also allows county commissioners to levy a $5 motor vehicle license fee to raise funds for roadway and bridge improvements, allows the state Registrar of Motor Vehicles to increase the transaction fee for deputy registrars to as high as $5.25, an increase of $1.75 over current fees, and also allows vehicle owners to receive registration notices electronically.