Money won’t be used for planning

COLUMBUS (AP) — State transportation officials have dropped plans to use some federal stimulus funds for planning and studies of highway projects, and announced Monday that the money will be used for construction.

The state initially passed over some ready-to-go construction projects, steering 7 percent of its $774 million in highway stimulus money for planning and preliminary studies.

Even though the projects were eligible for funding, Ohio reversed course at the request of federal transportation officials, who preferred the money be spent on projects that could quickly create and retain construction jobs, Ohio highway department spokesman Scott Varner said.

A core tenet of Obama’s $787 billion program was to spend the money quickly to jolt the economy and put millions of people back to work. Vice President Joe Biden has defended the pace of federal stimulus funding, warning that hasty spending on wasteful projects could jeopardize the entire program and that spending on infrastructure projects will speed up in the coming months.

The $57 million that had been set aside for planning projects in Ohio will go toward construction, Varner said. About $30 million will go to nine highway projects around the state, including the replacement of a bridge on State Route 18 in Lorain County. The remaining money will go to various state projects that haven’t been finalized.

Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland had wanted the stimulus money to fund studies of long-term projects that would position the state for future economic growth.

That included a two-year study of a highway and rail project on the east side of Cincinnati and the design of a 3-mile road connecting Interstate 490 to Cleveland’s art and museum district. The cost was $20 million each.

Instead, those projects will be funded with other state and federal dollars, Varner said.