Ohio Receives $250 Million in Infrastructure Money So Far

Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jack Marchbanks told Hannah News that the state agency has received $250 million so far from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and will be putting the funding through existing programs and projects that have already been deemed necessary.

In addition to the $250 million received by the state in the first year from the bill, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, another $67 million was passed through to the regional metropolitan planning organizations, $40 million has gone directly to local governments, and other funds have gone directly to programs such as Safe Streets.

Marchbanks said ODOT is using the $250 million to beef up formula programs, help the Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) with its project list, and increase funding for safety programs -- an initiative of the DeWine administration.

“We are investing that and making sure we can cover inflation -- that took a big bite out of what we could do --and we are keeping all of our projects on track, including the Columbus Crossroads,” Marchbanks said. “We are advancing certain projects as well. That will allow us to have a larger TRAC program this year. We are going to be funding almost $490 million of projects that are needed, that have been vetted, and have been assessed as valuable additions to our transportation system.”

He said future disbursements from the law will need to come through Congress as part of a funding bill.

“People don’t realize that $1.5 billion we are going to get over 5 years is parceled out in one-year bites. We’ve only got one bite out of five, so we’ve got four bites yet to come, and that will require Congress to authorize the money,” he said.

Marchbanks added that while the state is appreciative of the federal money and it is more than was given to the state in the previous funding bill, Ohio still has billions of dollars in transportation needs going into the future, as well as additional responsibilities for improving infrastructure for economic development projects coming to the state, including Intel and Honda’s battery plant.

Story originally published in The Hannah Report on November 4, 2022.  Copyright 2022 Hannah News Service, Inc.