Historic Investment in Ohio's Transportation Infrastructure

COLUMBUS—State Senator Stephanie Kunze (R-Dublin) today announced the Ohio Senate's unanimous passage of legislation investing nearly $13.5 billion to fund the construction and maintenance of the state's transportation system. The bill enhances rail safety, promotes commerce and puts tens of thousands of Ohioans to work.
 
"This bipartisan bill recognizes the need for a solid, statewide transportationinfrastructure with an investment of nearly $13.5  billion for the next two years," said Senator Kunze, Chair of the Senate's Transportation Committee. "Our transportationdecisions determine much more than where roads or bridges or tunnels or rail lines will be built. They determine the connections and barriers that people will encounter in their daily lives, and thus how hard or easy it will be for people to get where they need and want to go.” 
 
Passed by the Senate with unanimous, bipartisan support, House Bill 23 provides funding for the Ohio Department of Transportation, Public Works Commission and the Department of Development. 
 
Among the bill's provisions included in the Senate-passed version:
 
Critical Safety Provisions for Railroad Safety: Requires wayside detectors to be installed between 10-15 miles apart and requires ODOT and PUCO to oversee proper installation. Tasks the PUCO to examine best practices for hot boxes, hot bearing detectors, acoustic bearing detectors, and cameras installed on or near railroad tracks. 
 
Brent Spence Bridge Corridor: Contains many provisions to address the needs of this once-in-a-lifetime project. Ohio will be the lead fiscal agent on this project and once it reaches completion, drivers will have a safer, more enjoyable, and more efficient drive, ensuring the infrastructure will be in place to support Ohio’s thriving economy.
 
Providing for Local Road Projects: The Public Works Commission, which provides funding and grants for local road projects, was funded at over $120 million over the upcoming biennium. This affords local governments the opportunity to improve the roadways within their jurisdiction.
 
Fixing Dangerous Pavement Slips: Provides an additional $10 million for the Public Works Commission for emergency road-slip repair.
 
Force Accounts:  Allows local entities to establish their own force account limits or choose to use an increased statutory default limit which is based on National Highway Construction Cost Index. 
 
Increases Transparency for Local Governments: Creates three separate line items to show how much gas tax revenue goes to counties, municipalities, and townships for their roadwork and repairs.
 
House Bill 23 now proceeds to the House of Representatives for concurrence. For real-time traffic updates and construction projects throughout the state of Ohio click here.