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The Office of the
Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), District II, is
located in Bowling Green, Ohio and covers 8 counties in
Northwest Ohio.
Mr. David Dysard,
Deputy Director of ODOT District II, gave a PowerPoint
presentation beginning with ODOT’s mission statement: To
seamlessly link Ohio’s highways, railways, transit, aviation and
port facilities to promote an integrated multi mobile
transportation system in the 21st century.
He next went over
Governor Strickland’s State of Ohio Core Values which includes
higher ethical standards; Financial responsibility, efficiency,
and accountability; and public service to all of Ohio. This
ties in with ODOT’s Mission and Values which includes the
promotion of a multi-modal approach to transportation; Being a
reliable partner with local communities; Making communication
with ODOT more accessible and understandable; and providing a
meaningful and safe work environment for worker’s and travelers;
Embracing environmental stewardship; Emphasizing economic
development in project selection; Promoting opportunity and
diversity; and Encouraging a new spirit of cooperation and
innovation. He greatly emphasized safety due to the deaths and
near misses that have occurred in work zones, largely due to
travelers not slowing down or watching the signs.
He next discussed
the challenges that ODOT faces. Mr. Dysard presented a chart
showing inflation since January of 2002 for diesel, crude oil,
asphalt, and steel. This construction inflation has been
devastating to ODOT’s purchasing power. Flattening State
revenues and uncertain future funding investments are an issue
and constraints have been placed on major new construction
projects. He stated that while they do receive an allocation
from the gas tax, no matter how high or low the gas prices go,
ODOT still only receives .48 cents per gallon of gas.
He stated that there
is a 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task
Force consisting of 25 members that are focused on funding
transportation and getting others to be more motivated toward
the same. To learn more he stated there is a website available
at transportationfortomorrow.ohio.gov.
There are other
websites available for travelers to check routes and
construction projects all over Ohio:
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Buckeyetraffic.org (which is updated daily)
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Dot.state.oh.us/dist2
Mr. Dysard then
turned the discussion over to Mr. Layth Estephan, the ODOT
Highway Management Administrator.
Mr. Estephan
presented the Board with charts illustrating a 2008 District II
Season Summary of projects stating that FY08 Statewide projects
were estimated at $1.6 Billion and FY09 Statewide projects were
estimated at $1.74 Billion. He discussed District II 2007
carryover projects such as the I-75 repaving project that is
expected to be complete in September of 2008 and the I-280
Veterans Glass City Skyway which is currently open with only a
few punch items to complete.
Projects that will
effect Fulton County are 2 culverts that are expected to be
replaced with one being located at US20A at County Road 17 and
the other on US20 at County Road 27. The estimated completion
is September 2008 at an estimated $770,000. The Hallett Street
overpass in Swanton may include the demolition of a couple of
homes in that area and a railroad grade separation in Swanton at
the Hallett Avenue and NS RR. There is a bridge repair
scheduled on US 20 in Lucas County about 4 miles from the Fulton
County Line.
Mr. Estephan turned
the discussion over to Theresa Pollick for discussion on FY09
and beyond. She stated that in Fulton County a project to
resurface Road 20 from State Route 108 to 109 is expected to be
bid in March of 2009 and completed in November of 2009. Ms.
Pollick concluded the demonstration with discussion on
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) which are electronic
signs for a safer flow of traffic. |
