The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) will spend $2.07 billion on 1,034 projects throughout the state this year.
The projects are funded by the state and federal motor fuel taxes and are intended to improve safety, enhance capacity, and preserve existing roads and bridges. Twenty-five projects total more than $10 million.
A total of 90 percent of projects preserve existing roads and bridges. They include 871 bridges, paving 5,166 miles of roadway, and completing 246 safety-focused projects.
“Those who use our roads and bridges pay to maintain and improve them,” ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks said. “Unfortunately, as the costs of maintaining and building roads and bridges continued to go up, revenues from the state motor fuel tax, a user fee, did not. However, the new transportation budget, which takes effect (today), includes additional revenues that will allow Ohio to continue moving forward.”
Ohio has one of the largest networks of roads and bridges in the United States.
The state’s population has grown by 7.4 percent, passenger vehicle traffic has increased 41 percent, and truck traffic has spiked 66 percent since 1990. The number of lane miles maintained by ODOT has increased 3.6 percent during the same timeframe.