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Gov. John Kasich announced the plan to leverage the assets of
the Ohio Turnpike during a two-day tour across northern Ohio,
which started in Toledo and included stops in Cleveland and
Youngstown.
“This plan just makes
sense as we continue Ohio’s economic resurgence, grow jobs and
make our state prosperous once again,” Gov. Kasich said.
“Billions of dollars in new highway funds further strengthens
Ohio’s jobs-friendly climate and keeps our state moving by
delivering more projects faster.”
“Bonding against future
Turnpike revenue generates enough money to erase our highway
budget deficit,” said Jerry Wray, director of the Ohio Dept. of
Transportation (ODOT).
The Ohio Jobs and
Transportation Plan would generate $1.5 billion in new funds for
highway projects from bonds issued by the Ohio Turnpike
Commission and backed by future toll revenues. Up to an
additional $1.5 billion could be generated from matching local
and federal funds coming to a combined total of approximately $3
billion for major highway construction projects.
Details of the plan also
include:
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No long-term, private lease;
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A continued public, independent turnpike with expanded
authority which would be renamed the Ohio Turnpike and
Infrastructure Commission;
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More than 90 percent of new bond money will go directly to
northern Ohio highway projects, including the turnpike
itself;
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Rebuilding the Ohio Turnpike will occur decades sooner than
planned;
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Tolls for local passenger trips paid with an EZ Pass are
frozen for 10 years;
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All other toll rates are capped at inflation, which is
significantly less than historic toll increases;
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No turnpike employee layoffs are anticipated.
The region’s legislative
delegation lobbied hard for months to ensure any money generated
by the turnpike would remain in northern Ohio, arguing that the
tolls came mainly from trucking firms and travelers from across
the North Coast.
Many Toledo-area
legislators also contended that leasing the turnpike to a
private company would cause the highway to fall into disrepair
and result in skyrocketing tolls. They cited the controversies
surrounding the long-term lease of the Indiana Turnpike as an
example of what could happen in Ohio.
Rep. Teresa Fedor
(D-Toledo) criticized the governor’s plan as “fiscally
irresponsible” and one designed for “partisan political gain.”
She argues the plan would still result in job loss across the
state, increased tolls, and raise taxes for Ohioans.
“The turnpike is the
economic pipeline of northern Ohio and its assets should not be
taken from northern Ohio,” said Rep. Fedor. “But it is not just
northern Ohioans who are affected: the governor’s plan does not
benefit other Ohioans, either, because it is not a fiscally
sound plan. In exchange for a smoothly operating turnpike, the
governor is giving us a lump of coal.”
She cited a recent Ohio
Supreme Court ruling determined that highway transportation
projects must be funded with approximately $140 million in
annual CAT tax revenue, not with money from the state’s general
fund. Rep. Fedor contends that revenue should be accounted for
before increasing tolls that could hurt communities and
businesses the Ohio Turnpike helps to support.
However, backers of the
governor’s plan point out that for every $1 billion in new road
construction spending, 30,000 jobs are created. Some Northwest
Ohio Republicans applauded the governor’s effort to find a way
to leverage turnpike assets in a way that keeps the revenue in
the region.
“This plan not only keeps
tolls low for the local drivers, but assures that trucking firms
can use the Turnpike, will continue to be able to afford that,”
said State Rep. Lynn Wachtmann (R-Napoleon).
Toledo’s mayor and port
authority officials also expressed support for the governor’s
turnpike plan, stating it avoids their biggest concern: that the
turnpike would go private. The Ohio Trucking Association (OTA)
applauded the governor for choosing what the association’s
president called “the best option for all travelers in the
state.”
“I'm gratified that as a
trade association representing a major user of the turnpike, we
have had many opportunities to voice our concerns,” said OTA
President Larry Davis in a statement. “They listened to us and
that means a lot.”
OTA represents more than
900 trucking and supplier companies throughout the state. The
association’s president called the Ohio Turnpike “too valuable
of an asset” to give to an outside company for lease or
purchase.
“We have a top-notch
turnpike now with a stable and fairly predictable funding
source,” explained Davis. “It makes more sense to leverage the
value of what we already have to better our state's roads and
bridges, than to roll the dice on an outside operator who may
not have the best interests of efficient transportation in
mind.”
Fulton County Recorder Sandy Barber, Northwest Ohio’s only Ohio
Turnpike Commission member, also found something to like about
the governor’s plan.
“I am personally very pleased about
the partnership being forged by the Ohio Turnpike Commission and
the Ohio Department of Transportation, which will benefit
residents along the turnpike corridor and all Ohioans," said
Barber. “This plan is going to help create new jobs and I like
that the funding will help maintain Ohio's transportation system
as well as allow us to continue making improvements.”
With future turnpike tolls
capped at the rate of inflation, or approximately 2.7 percent
annually,
state officials believe those toll hikes will be less than half
the rate of increase that passenger tolls have seen over the
past 20 years and almost a full percentage point less than past
increases to truck tolls. Tolls for local passenger trips that
are paid with EZ Pass will be frozen at current levels for the
next decade.
Funding for future projects to be paid
for with turnpike bonds still will be based on Transportation
Review Advisory Council (TRAC) recommendations. The nine member,
bi-partisan group is chaired by the ODOT director and is
responsible for overseeing the selection process for
capacity-adding and congestion-relieving highway projects which
cost more than $12 million.
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