In August 2012, Governor John R. Kasich announced that a first-of-its-kind financing option will eliminate construction delays for the Innerbelt Bridge project, despite ODOT's $1.6 billion budget hole.
ODOT will use a public private partnership option – or P3 – that will allow contractors to finance more than $300 million needed to design and construct the second major phase of the Innerbelt Bridge project in downtown Cleveland. ODOT will then pay the contractor back with payments over a fixed period of time.
The announcement was made possible after Ohio became the 30th state in the nation in 2011 to enact legislation permitting ODOT to pursue P3’s. This is the first time ODOT will pursue a P3 in Ohio.
In January 2012, ODOT announced a $1.6 billion budget hole that forced the department to push back by decades some of the state’s largest construction projects, including the Innerbelt Bridge. Since then, the agency has initiated a complete review of all current and future transportation projects to identify those that could be excellent candidates for P3’s, and has sought to identify additional sources of revenue to aid in the funding of major transportation projects throughout the state.
