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Turnpike privatization study loses federal funding
YOUNGSTOWN
After receiving complaints from the state’s Democratic congressional delegation about the use of federal funds on a study to consider privatizing the Ohio Turnpike, the U.S. Department of Transportation has revoked the money.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan opposed the use of federal money for this effort. He called it a “misguided attempt to misuse these federal funds for [the Gov. John Kasich administration’s] radical plan to privatize” the turnpike.
Ryan, of Niles, D-17th, thanked the federal DOT for Friday’s decision, and said he’d continue to fight to protect the turnpike.
“It’s disappointing that during this rush to privatize the turnpike, the state attempted to misuse these federal funds for a plan that could potentially cost drivers through significantly increased tolls, threaten the job security of over 1,000 Ohioans, and drive up costs for local governments through increased maintenance costs for local roads,” Ryan said. “Federal money should be used to create jobs, not eliminate them.”
Kasich, a Republican, is interested in a long-term lease of the turnpike that would use the proceeds to make improvements to fix roads in the state. Kasich wants at least $3 billion for a 30-year lease.
Ohio Democratic members of Congress, who oppose the lease proposal, sent a letter Tuesday to USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood questioning the state’s use of $1.5 million in federal State Planning and Research Program funds to pay a contractor advising the state on turnpike financing, and the possibility of privatization.
The USDOT’s Federal Highway Administration issued a statement Friday that the $1.5 million was given to the state because the funding request appeared to look like it qualified under the State Planning and Research Program.
But after further review, it was determined the request doesn’t “meet the intent of the SPR funds,” according to the statement.
Ohio DOT Director Jerry Wray said the decision is political. Wray said he spoke to Victor Mendez, head of the Federal Highway Administration, who told him “he was feeling political pressure to reverse his agency’s decision on this.”
Mendez “wants ODOT to revise its application to try to work something out, and we’ll do that, but I’m not optimistic that politics won’t still interfere,” Wray said. “It’s disappointing and a little irregular that the FHWA would let politics blur their process, but if it continues we’ll just find a way to get this done ourselves.”