ODOT’s Historic Investments and Safer, Greener Transportation Choices on display at 2009 Ohio State Fair

OHIO STATE FAIR (Tuesday, July 28, 2009) - Maintaining a tradition dating back nearly a hundred years, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has a diverse display at this year’s Ohio State Fair, showcasing ODOT’s historic infrastructure investments and Ohio’s safer and greener transportation choices.

In the fair’s Marketplace building, ODOT will highlight Ohio’s investment of the more than $1.1 billion in transportation stimulus funds made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These funds are being invested in every region of the state and in every mode of our multi-modal transportation system.

Fair visitors will also see a full-size battery/diesel hybrid bus. Operated by the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, these hybrid buses cut fuel consumption by 30 percent - saving 3,000 gallons of fuel each year - and reduce soot and hydrocarbon emissions by 90 percent. The display also features “Buster,” a mini-version of the hybrid bus, perfect for photographs.

Since 1912, ODOT has been a staple at the Ohio State Fair, highlighting the state’s transportation progression and, in recent years, showcasing new technologies for making travel safer and more environmentally-friendly.

This year, ODOT will also demonstrate how it uses solar and wind power to keep motorists up-to-date on traffic information and warn drivers of high crash locations throughout the state.

Standing approximately 25 feet in the air and weighing 500 pounds, ODOT’s Roadway Weather Information System uses solar and wind energy to power its transmission of weather and pavement data back to ODOT. That information is used to assist with treating roads and bridges during winter weather season and updating traffic delays throughout the year.

Solar energy is also harnessed to power new high-intensity stop signs, which feature LED lighting to warn motorists at potentially dangerous intersections.   

ODOT’s display will demonstrate how the use of highly-reflective material on highway and directional signs has saved taxpayers millions of dollars in equipment, maintenance and energy costs. Without compromising safety, the reflective material needs only the light from passing vehicles to shine - which means no additional overhead highway lighting is needed.

With a spectacular midway, big-name entertainment, hundreds of exhibits and one of the largest junior fair shows in the nation, the 2009 Ohio State Fair runs July 29 through Aug. 9 at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus. For more information, check online at www.ohiostatefair.com. 

For more information, contact Nancy Burton, ODOT Central Office Communications, at (614) 728-8915
or your local ODOT District Communications Office.