Ohio Commits $120 Million for Transportation Projects

Road Construction

Ohio plans to spread more than $120 million of taxpayer money over 13 counties for road projects, with $15 million spent to expand bus rapid transit in Columbus.

The new construction funding list from the Transportation Review Advisory Council includes $21 million for new construction, $35.5 million in additional construction, $33.4 million in new money for preliminary engineering, and another $28.4 million for more funding for development projects.

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Ohio Plans Warning Systems for Stopped Traffic

Car Crash

The state of Ohio believes new technology that detects slow traffic and warns drivers will create a safer highway system.

The Ohio Department of Transportation plans to install new warning systems at 13 highway sites in and around major urban areas identified as high-congestion, high-crash sites.

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Ohio Communities to Share $100 Million for Transportation Needs

Road near Charm, Ohio

Nearly 400 transit programs across the state will share more than $100 million in taxpayer funds for various projects to support public transportation.

Gov. Mike DeWine announced $106 million for 383 different projects through seven grant programs focusing on workforce mobility, senior citizens, special needs transportation, rural transit and busing.

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Governor Mike DeWine Announces Hundreds of Air Taxis to be Manufactured in Ohio

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jon Husted, Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik, and JobsOhio President and CEO J.P. Nauseef announced on Monday that Joby Aviation Inc. plans to build an electric air taxi manufacturing facility in the state.

According to the press release, the company will build the facility at the Dayton International Airport and anticipates the project to create 2,000 new jobs in the area.

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New Ohio School Bus Safety Task Force Holds First Meeting

A new state task force in Ohio focused on thoroughly evaluating the safety of the state’s school buses held its first meeting on Monday at the Ohio Department of Public Safety headquarters.

As previously reported by The Ohio Star Ohio Governor Mike DeWine formed the Ohio School Bus Safety Working Group last month following a Northwestern Local School District bus crash that killed one student and injured more than two dozen in Clark County.

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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine Creates Task Force to Evaluate School Bus Safety

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced that he has formed a new task force to thoroughly evaluate the safety of the state’s school buses.

This announcement follows a Northwestern Local School District bus crash last week that killed one student and injured more than two dozen in Clark County.

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State House Passes Legislation Modernizing the Ohio Revised Code to Save Taxpayer Dollars

The Ohio House of Representatives passed a Republican-backed legislation that attempts to save taxpayers millions of dollars statewide by modernizing the Ohio Revised Code.

The Ohio House passed the legislation with overwhelming bipartisan support by a vote of 94-1, advancing it to the senate for its consideration.

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Ohio Governor DeWine Launches Statewide Campaign Drawing Attention to New Distracted Driving Laws

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has launched a new statewide public awareness campaign to draw attention to Ohio’s new distracted driving laws which went into effect on Tuesday.

The new law forbids anyone operating a vehicle within the state from using or holding a smartphone or other electronic device.

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Ohio Governor DeWine Signs $13.5 Billion Transportation Budget Including New Rail Safety Measures

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed a nearly $13.5 billion state transportation budget on Friday, including rail safety measures that lawmakers added in reaction to the February 3rd train derailment and toxic chemical spill in East Palestine.

With oversight from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), among other provisions, the railway safety measures call for two-person crews for freight trains and requires the installation of wayside detectors at shorter distances, every 10 to 15 miles, to help identify issues. The Federal Railroad Administration currently permits the placement of some wayside devices up to 25 miles apart from one another.

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Ohio Looking at Options to Replace Gas Tax

Calling the gas tax an unsustainable way to fund transportation infrastructure, the Ohio Department of Transportation is studying its options.

Using a $4 million federal grant, Ohio developed a website to seek public opinion on potential funding options. Those results will eventually be forwarded to the General Assembly later this year, according to a promotional video produced by ODOT.

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Ohio Governor Dispatches ODOT to Aid New York in Deadly Weather Disaster

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced Thursday that he dispatched support from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to aid in emergency snow removal efforts in the state of New York following an “epic, once-in-a-lifetime” weather disaster responsible for killing over two dozen people.

A convoy of 28 ODOT workers, 12 tandem dump trucks, two utility mechanic trucks, and four crew cab pick-up trucks departed from Ashtabula Wednesday morning for a six-day deployment. The ODOT crew consists of highway technicians, mechanics, and managers from District 4 (Akron), District 11 (New Philadelphia), and District 12 (Cleveland).

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Governor DeWine Announces 50 New Traffic Safety Projects in Ohio

Ohio Governor MikeDewine and The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) director Dr. Jack Marchbanks announced details on 50 new traffic projects which they say will increase safety in Ohio.

The 50 projects will equate to $121 million dollars and will address safety concerns in 32 counties across the state.

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Ohio Governor DeWine Opposes Biden’s Call to Suspend Gas Taxes

While President Joe Biden this week began urging Congress to suspend the national gas tax for three months and asking states to do the same with their gas levies, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) came out against the idea. 

The federal government charges gasoline buyers $0.18 per gallon and diesel motorists $0.24 per gallon. The Buckeye State meanwhile imposes a $0.385-per-gallon tax on gasoline as well as a $0.47-per-gallon tax on diesel and other fuel types. Both levels of government use the revenues from these sources to fund transportation projects. Biden maintains that dollars flowing to the U.S. Treasury are sufficient to prevent compromising federal highway repairs in the event of a three-month tax holiday.

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Kentucky, Ohio Officials Start to Identify Contractors for $2 Billion Brent Spence Bridge Project

Transportation officials in Kentucky and Ohio continue to work in concert on a new Ohio River bridge connecting Cincinnati with Northern Kentucky, and they hope construction on the more than $2 billion megaproject could start by the end of next year.

Besides building a companion bridge to the existing Brent Spence Bridge, officials in both states want to widen the interstate highways connected by the bridges. A 5-mile stretch in Kentucky and a 1-mile stretch in Ohio each would get one new lane in each direction across a 6-mile stretch.

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Ohio Department of Transportation ‘Concerned’ About Snow Plow Crashes

After a report saying that 17 Ohio Department of Transportation (OHOT) snow plows have been involved in accidents this winter, ODOT says it is concerned. 

“As for the 17 ODOT plows struck, certainly we’re concerned about that,” Matt Bruning, ODOT’s Press Secretary told The Ohio Star.

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Ohio Gov. DeWine and Other Republican Governors Call on Biden to Ease Supply Chain Regulations

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine wants the Biden administration to ease restrictions on the trucking industry to help small businesses and consumers get access to goods during the holiday season.

DeWine has joined 14 other Republican governors in asking the federal government to suspend what they called burdensome regulations and make immediate changes to federal law that could relieve supply chain backlogs.

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Ohio House Finance Committee Makes Its Own Road Funding Proposal of 10.7 Cent Gas Tax Increase Phased in Over Three Years, No Indexing

COLUMBUS, Ohio – After more than an hour and a half delay waiting for the substitute bill to be prepared, House Finance Chairman Scott Oelslager (R-District 48) called the meeting to order and presented the Fiscal Year 2020-2021 proposed Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Budget under HB 62. The Transportation…

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