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.