$1.5 Billion for New Roads

Gasoline taxes pay for Ohio’s highways, but an uncertain economy, higher gas prices and more fuel-efficient cars combine to reduce gasoline sales, as well as money for Ohio’s roads—causing a $1.6 billion highway budget deficit. A gas tax increase would kill jobs, so other strategies are needed to keep Ohio’s highways in good shape—highways that are essential to our manufacturing, agriculture and logistics industries, among others.

The Ohio Department of Transportation cut the highway budget deficit by $400 million thanks to new savings and operational efficiencies, but more funds and more innovative ideas are needed. That’s why ODOT has spent the past year studying the options for better using the revenue generated by the Ohio Turnpike. Working with ODOT, the Turnpike will dedicate almost all (more than 90 percent) of the $1.5 billion in new bond proceeds to Northern Ohio road projects. This frees up ODOT to spend the state’s gas tax and federal funds on highways downstate—which allows all projects to move forward faster. Furthermore, it’s time for the Turnpike to be a good neighbor to the communities through which it passes and, for the first time in its history, the Turnpike will help neighboring communities with projects it previously ignored, such as sound walls and locally-owned bridges spanning the Turnpike.

Funding for projects will be based on the Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) recommendations. Established by the General Assembly in 1997, the nine member bi-partisan group, chaired by the Director of Transportation, is responsible for overseeing the selection process for capacity-adding and congestion-relieving projects which cost more than $12 million. Of the nine members, six are appointed by the Governor and one each by the Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives and the President of the Ohio Senate. Members serve a five year term. Nominated projects must come before the TRAC to request funds for the planning, design, right-of-way and construction of major projects. Each project submitted before the TRAC is scored on a 100-point scale and must meet various transportation, community and economic development, and sponsorship investment criteria. Once a project is nominated and scored, the TRAC members then vote on whether the project is added to the major new TRAC project list. All TRAC projects are funded by state and federal gas tax revenue and must adhere to those standards to be eligible for funding. The TRAC funds $200 to $300 million annually.