It is noteworthy that among 22 ARRA federal stimulus funded rail-related projects approved by the Ohio Rail Development Commission members yesterday includes $7 million dollars for the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) of 4 of the 7 Ohio Hub high-speed rail corridors: Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati, Cleveland-Pittsburgh, Cleveland-Toledo, and Columbus-Toledo.
This is a separate funding issue from the funding for the conventional-speed (79 MPH) start-up service in the 3-C Corridor…. and did not need legislative approval, since the funding was already in hand as part of over $700-million in ARRA stimulus funds allocated to ODOT for transportation projects statewide.
With the Commission vote ORDC staff can now administer those funds and get the environmental review process underway. The process is slated to take 2 years. Once complete, it means the state would be come eligible for federal matching grant $$$ for high-speed rail projects.
The 3-C start-up will be part of the state’s funding request for the second round of federal stimulus dollars.
