The Ohio Department of Transportation’s Innerbelt Bridge Team is proud and humbled by our engagement with this, the largest single transportation project in Ohio’s history. We recognize that the Cleveland Plus community has invested taxpayer dollars into building this important new structure, and should gain direct economic impact from its existence. To that end, our mission is to ensure that the procurement process is both transparent and equitable. This includes actively engaging minority- and women-owned firms which have historically been economically disadvantaged, and creating new blue- and white-collar jobs in the Cleveland Plus community. After the dust has settled and a safe and attractive new I-90 Innerbelt Bridge has been erected, we hope to have achieved the following meaningful objectives. First, we hope to have increased the capacity of existing DBE certified firms, adding to their competitive advantage for future projects. Additionally, we expect to have increased the number of prequalified DBE firms. Finally, we hope to increase the number of qualified firms who take advantage of the DBE certification program and bidding opportunities with the Ohio Department of Transportation. Ultimately, the ODOT Innerbelt Bridge Team hopes to do more than build a bridge – we hope to enhance our community.
The Walsh/HNTB team strives to ensure that Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) have equal opportunities to compete for and perform subcontracts and supply materials for the I-90 Innerbelt Bridge Project.
Our goal is to attract and retain subcontractors and material suppliers that are already prequalified to perform ODOT work, and also to identify companies that have the potential to perform work on this and future ODOT projects. Our continuing outreach efforts will ensure that we exceed the project participation goal of 15%, but more importantly, we hope to maximize the positive economic impact for the local community. Working with the Walsh/HNTB team will strengthen the individual DBE companies that participate in this project and prepare them for greater opportunities in the future.