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Ohio highway project delays likely to cost drivers

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Experts say some Ohio drivers will likely waste more time and gas and see more hazards if state transportation officials delay hundreds of millions of dollars in road projects to control spending.

Ohio Department of Transportation staffers this week recommended delaying dozens of projects, some by 11 years or more.

The state would spend less in the short term, but the move would have other types of costs for residents if ODOT's Transportation Review Advisory Council approves the delays this spring, The Columbus Dispatch reported Sunday.

Transportation staffers said there's a lack of funds, and the director also blamed overcommitment by previous administrations, sometimes for projects that take years to plan. The state had about $862 million in projects ready to go and $10.2 billion planned by last year, the newspaper said.

ODOT Director Jerry Wray said Ohio can afford $100 million annually for major projects and will continue road maintenance.

In Columbus, where studies have found drivers already are burning more fuel on highways and spending more time in backed-up traffic than they used to, transportation officials had planned to rebuild parts of the overburdened interstates that pass near downtown. Projections from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission indicate traffic between key parts of those highways could increase by about 20 percent by the time future phases of the work start.

"We're going to see more crashes and more delays," said Robert Lawler, the commission's transportation director. "It's an issue of capacity, but it's also an issue of safety."

Ohio isn't alone in facing more road repairs and projects than it can afford.

A congressional commission estimated in 2009 said governments at the local, state and federal levels spent less than half the amount needed to maintain the U.S. transportation infrastructure, the newspaper said.

"When you have a system that's 40 to 50 years old, it pretty much needs to be replaced," said John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. "There's a huge backlog of replacement, maintenance and repairs that need to be done."

Ohio funds roadwork using money from state and federal gas taxes. First-term Republican Gov. Gov. John Kasich wants the state to consider using tolls for some projects and partnering with private road builders.

Kevin Jones of The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at [email protected] .

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