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WBNS 10TV wrote
ODOT To Announce Spring Construction Projects
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
The Ohio Department of Transportation will kick off its spring construction season Wednesday by announcing plans for 54 construction projects in central Ohio.
A total of 20 projects will take place in Franklin County, including two road-widening projects. ODOT will widen Roberts Road between Hilliard-Rome Road and Westbelt Drive, and widen Hilliard-Rome Road between Roberts Road and Scioto Darby Road, Connelly reported.
Closer to downtown, the South High Street Project was scheduled to begin in about a week.
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It would have to since by law the vast majority of money from our gas tax has to go to roads. But why in the world are we widening roads? We’ll encourage more traffic, more sprawl and help increase gas prices. ODOT is certifiably insane.
Understood. But the money to build rails can and will come from another pot of money than ODOT’s $2.5 million.
Why? Isn’t that what the “T” stands for?
I support European style gas taxes that can support both rail and road. I know it is politically unpopular, but needs to be done for both conservation and alternative forms of transportation. Oil is at $111 dpb again today.
The sooner it gets to $200, the sooner we can start talking solutions. 8)
Well…once the riots stop anyway.
We’re widening roads because the traffic on the existing ones is already heavy enough, and because that’s where people want to live, and so ODOT’s projections reasonably predict that if they build the roads, they’ll get used (hence your “more traffic,” but that’s part of the point … they don’t generally build roads where they won’t get more traffic).
We’re widening roads because the traffic on the existing ones is already heavy enough, and because that’s where people want to live, and so ODOT’s projections reasonably predict that if they build the roads, they’ll get used (hence your “more traffic,” but that’s part of the point … they don’t generally build roads where they won’t get more traffic).
That’s definitely the mindset…but should it be? Do we have any right to complain about high gas prices, or “being addicted to foreign oil” if we keep that as the status quo?
No matter the order of chicken or egg, we can be sure that more roads = more driving = more sprawl. If we keep alleviating every choke point with the same strategy of widening and extending roads, we should expect to be dealing with the same issues in perpetuity, no?
I support more rail options as well. If I could get rid of my car and still get around town, to the airport and other midwest cities via rail I would do it tommorow. My only point is that is not ever going to work for eveyone in the state and I think the cost per mile doesn’t sound that high when compared to the streetcar.
You’re absolutely right. I guess my point with comparing costs was to contrast the opposition that every rail project faces compared to the bounty of cash that seems to magically appear for every road widening/resurfacing/extension. (I know it comes from the gas tax, but using that to fund roads is like using cigarette taxes to fund lung cancer treatment, only to find out that second hand smoke is killing everyone else. And yes, this analogy is full of holes ;))
We’re widening roads because the traffic on the existing ones is already heavy enough, and because that’s where people want to live, and so ODOT’s projections reasonably predict that if they build the roads, they’ll get used (hence your “more traffic,” but that’s part of the point … they don’t generally build roads where they won’t get more traffic).
That’s definitely the mindset…but should it be? Do we have any right to complain about high gas prices, or “being addicted to foreign oil” if we keep that as the status quo?
Well, I don’t think we have any right to complain about being addicted to either “foreign oil” or just “oil” (we’re addicted to the domestic stuff too, after all). However, the issues of traffic density and oil dependence are separable. I think that electric cars will be much more commonplace in ten years than they are today. This is something that I think will get quite big quickly once certain price thresholds are crossed (on the way down). Alternative-fuel cars can use the same roads, and take up roughly the same amount of space, that a regular car does. Therefore, we could conceivably lower marginal emissions to zero and still be dealing with sprawl and traffic. However, many people like their sprawling communities with wide roads. If we find a way for them to get around without burning gas, you should actually expect more sprawl, since the price of electricity is not climbing nearly as fast as the price of gas. In other words, we’d be making an activity that people already prefer to do–use their cars–cheaper.
Not necessarily, because there are other, more fundamental limits on suburban growth, most especially supply and demand for the houses themselves. There are entire developments out there with trouble moving inventory at the moment. Even when the market recovers, it’s likely going to mean more clearing out of existing inventory than building massive amounts of new homes. The building boom of the past decade was abnormal. If just building highways did everything, after all, nothing would stop Columbus’ suburbs from sprawling and sprawling until people were commuting in from Zanesville and Chillicothe, but that’s not happening because there simply aren’t enough jobs here yet to support a city that size.
The roads will come to where people want to live. However, that still leaves the rather important preliminary question of where people actually do want to live. Roads are getting built in Westerville and Hilliard and Powell because those are communities with not just room to grow, but demand to grow. Demand has to come from somewhere–from people actually liking an area and wanting to move there.
Roads have the potential to serve nearly everyone. There are plenty of roads in this state that you helped pay for that you’ll never use. Just like how some regional rail projects should be funded by people who might never use them. Transportation development is about having assets available for those who choose to use them. It’s sort of sad that we have to come up with special funding for the Streetcar to base the funding on proximity to the people who will use it. Roads definitely aren’t funded that way.
Oh-D’oh: Ohio Department of Highways.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
BY TIM DOULIN
One project coming to a road near you aims to stop the bumper-car crashes when drivers from I-270 try to merge onto southbound Rt. 315. There have been about 30 crashes a year as drivers coming from either direction are quickly funneled into a one-lane ramp, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation. The $3.5 million project is expected to be completed this fall.
It’s one of 24 ODOT projects involving interstate construction, resurfacing, paving or bridge repair in Franklin County this year.
An even bigger headache for drivers likely will be work to rehabilitate the I-71 bridge over 17th Avenue near the state fairgrounds and Crew Stadium. During construction, most traffic on the freeway will be diverted down the exit ramps and back up the entrance ramps to avoid the bridge work.
Lagging state gas-tax revenue and rising construction costs meant that ODOT could not take on many new construction projects and is focusing on maintenance and safety. The department is forming a task force to prioritize future construction projects across the state.
Work on the new Main Street bridge over the Scioto River will become more noticeable when the arch pieces arrive Downtown in May.
“The arch should be constructed this summer,” said Brad Jones, ODOT construction engineer. The bridge will be completed late next year or in 2010.
For a complete list of construction projects scheduled this year in ODOT District 6 territory, visit http://www.dot.state .
READ MORE
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
BY JAMES NASH
James Nash
The Ohio Department of Transportation has been doling out $2 million in overtime pay per year to employees who aren’t entitled to it, according to a watchdog report issued today.
Managers at the state transit agency have been paid time and a half even though they are only supposed to receive compensatory time, the Ohio inspector general’s office found.
Since 2005, the Ohio Department of Transportation has paid overtime-exempt employees about $6 million in overtime, the report found. Managers at the agency rationalized the extra pay by comparing their salaries to those of similar private-sector companies, according to the inspector general’s office.
READ MORE
ODOT’s spending spree is about to come to an end.
As drivers cut back on gas, The Department of Transportation says its Highway Trust Fund will be depleted and needs an $8 billion emergency infusion.
By Tami Luhby, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Last Updated: September 5, 2008: 3:35 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — An unprecedented decline in driving will deplete the federal Highway Trust Fund by the end of September and prompted the Bush administration on Friday to ask Congress for an $8 billion emergency infusion.
Gasoline sales are crucial to maintaining the nation’s highway infrastructure. About 90% of the fund’s total revenues comes from taxes on motor fuels, according to a July report from the Congressional Budget Office.
Without the additional money, the Department of Transportation will not be able to fully reimburse states for their highway investments. Officials are projecting that in September the department will collect $4.4 billion in funding requests but collect only $2.7 billion in revenues.
If Congress doesn’t act, the department will start reimbursing states on a pro-rated basis as soon as next week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said.
“We can’t write checks if we don’t have money in the account,” Peters said.
Chaos for states
Partial reimbursements would throw state infrastructure projects into chaos, said John Horsley, executive director for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. States already have many programs underway and are used to submitting receipts daily to the Transportation Department to receive reimbursements for contractors.
READ MORE
What a shame. Everyone knew this was coming for years and have done nothing about it.
Wait a minute! They issued a final report!
http://www.transportationfortomorrow.org/about/
The Commission is working to examine not only the condition and future needs of the nation’s surface transportation system, but also short and long-term alternatives to replace or supplement the fuel tax as the principal revenue source to support the Highway Trust Fund over the next 30 years.
Yeah…perhaps nothing was a bit harsh. I suppose they did form a committee to remind them how grim the situation is.
Exactly! LOL