Governor wants study of road projects

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Ohio Governor Ted Strickland (D-Lisbon)

COLUMBUS — Gov. Ted Strickland has asked the new Ohio Department of Transportation director for a thorough review of Transportation Review Advisory Council funding of local road projects. He also wants an outline of recommendations for fiscal improvement.

TRAC was created by state lawmakers in 1997 to oversee funding of major transportation projects (online at www.dot.state.oh.us/trac).   The governor said TRAC has made commitments to community road projects without adequate finances to cover the costs.

“There appears to be a long-term, growing deficit between revenues and projects the TRAC has approved,” he said. “Simply put, over the next seven years, the gap between the estimated costs of TRAC’s priority projects and ODOT’s estimated funds grows to a deficit of about $1.2 billion.   Even if Ohio would borrow at record levels during this period, all the projects that TRAC committed to could not be funded.”