Jobs and Progress Plan

Transcription

1 Ohio's Transportation Improvement Strategy Bob Taft, Ohio Governor Gordon Proctor, ODOT Director August 03 Ohio Department of Transportation

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3 Jobs and Progress Plan Ohio faces unprecedented transportation challenges and unprecedented transportation opportunities in the 1 st Century. As to challenges, Ohio must expand its 1s transportation system to meet 1 st Century needs. Ohio s interstate highways are approaching their th anniversary and are greatly in need of expansion and reconstruction. Rural corridors remain uncompleted across Ohio. Truck traffic has grown percent in the past years and will grow in Ohio by at least another 0 percent in the next years. While the challenges are great, so are the opportunities. First, Ohio has approved a state motor fuel tax increase which provides ODOT additional revenue. ODOT now has assurance of an annual $ million new construction program for the next 10 years. Second, ODOT has managed to stabilize its basic bridge and pavement conditions so a sustained, predictable level of investment can maintain good conditions for the next years. This predictability allows unprecedented opportunity to plan. Third, Congress is set this year to renew the six-year federal transportation act. It is possible this act will increase Ohio s federal transportation funds by $ million annually. Because ODOT s maintenance needs are now stable, predictable and achievable with existing revenue, Ohio can invest the additional federal funds into system expansion to meet 1 st Century needs. Gov. Taft announces a five-point Ohio transportation initiative to capitalize on these opportunities and to address the challenges facing Ohio s transportation system. These five points are: 1) Create A $ Billion Ohio Competitiveness Program Gov. Taft sets a goal of having a $ billion, 10-year Ohio construction program dedicated entirely to addressing Ohio s most pressing congestion, safety and rural access needs from SFY 0 through SFY 1. This program would be funded in part by the $ million annually ODOT now has thanks to the enactment of a state motor fuels tax increase. Ohio requests its Congressional delegation set a goal of raising another $ million annually in core transportation programs through the following means: Enact Senate Bill 14 which could provide ODOT up to $1 million annually by correcting the ethanol penalty which reduces Ohio s transportation revenue; Raise Ohio s rate of return to 9 percent, spend down the balances in the Highway Trust Fund and capture trust fund interest, which could provide Ohio an additional $100 million per year; and Raise federal revenue through a federal fuel tax escalator, or other means, to ensure Ohio s total return in core, spendable transportation categories meets or exceeds $ million annually. In return, Ohio would pledge it will match the $ million in additional federal revenue to the $ million new state revenue to provide a 10-year, $ billion Ohio transportation capacity program. ) Unclog Ohio s Arteries Gov. Taft directs ODOT and the Transportation Review Advisory Council this year to develop a comprehensive, 10-year financing and construction strategy to address the most pressing urban freeway congestion problems in Ohio. This package would include 10-year plans to address the high-congestion, high-crash locations on Ohio s urban freeways. The Governor directs ODOT to develop these projects with the cities to meet the cities social, environmental and economic development goals. 3) Maintain for the Future Gov. Taft directs ODOT to adopt as official policy a goal of sustaining today s acceptable level of state bridge and pavement conditions through a long-term, systematic asset management approach. ODOT forecasts an annual program of bridge and pavement projects and maintenance treatments at approximately $0 million annually will sustain ODOT s bridge and pavement conditions at current acceptable levels for the next years. This annual level of investment will grow approximately 1 percent each year for inflation. Sustained at this level with a strategic mix of maintenance and replacement projects, ODOT s bridge and pavement conditions will remain at a steady state of high and acceptable levels through 1. This asset management approach will drive ODOT s repair, replacement and maintenance activities to ensure state highway and bridge conditions are adequately sustained into the future. With ODOT s basic maintenance needs addressed, Ohio can allocate new state and federal revenue to system improvement. 4) Increase Highway Safety Gov. Taft directs ODOT to immediately double the amount spent on addressing high-accident locations from the current $ million level to $0 million. In addition, the Ohio Department of Public Safety will use additional federal funds to increase education and enforcement at Ohio s high-crash sites. This effort will rejuvenate Ohio s highway safety efforts and reduce crashes, which have remained at unacceptably high levels. These expenditures will be in addition to the new construction program. ) Complete Ohio s Macro-Corridors Gov. Taft directs ODOT and the Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) to develop a 10-year financing plan to complete as much as possible of Ohio s rural Macrocorridor system. Once completed, this network will place more than percent of Ohio s population within 10 miles of an adequate highway corridor. This network will provide every region of the state with a modern transportation corridor. Gov. Taft also directs ODOT and the TRAC to develop a Northwest Ohio Freight Strategy to address the excessively high truck volumes on Northwest Ohio s Macro-corridors. This strategy would: Conduct a study to determine what strategies could be used to induce trucks off of parallel routes onto the Ohio Turnpike. Develop a financing and bond package to complete U.S. in western Ohio, to complete U.S. 4 in Northwest Ohio and to improve the I-/I-4 interchange in Toledo. By improving these routes to handle their truck volumes, and by attracting trucks off of parallel routes onto the Turnpike, Ohio could fine tune the Northwest Ohio highway network to deal with 1 st Century freight demands. THE CONTEXT, THE PLAN Ohio has a disproportionately large transportation system that underpins its economy. Ohio is only th in geographic size but it has the nation s 10 th largest highway network, the fifth highest volume of traffic, the nation s fourth largest interstate highway network and the second largest inventory of bridges. Ohio has such a large system because it is a populous state, with a large manufacturing economy and it lies in the middle of America s population and economic centers. Within a day s drive of Ohio is percent of North America s population and percent of North America s manufacturing capacity. Ohio also has an exceptional rail, water and aviation network, although those are owned privately and are not under state management. This integrated system supports Ohio s vast economy, which if it were a nation would be the world s th largest economy. Because of these factors, Ohio has the fifth highest volume of truck traffic. The value of truck freight on Ohio s highway is the third greatest in the United States and 14 percent by value of all freight moved on America s highways touches Ohio. While Ohio s highway network is vast, it also is under increasing strain. Overall traffic volumes rose percent between 19 and 0 and truck traffic increased percent in that same period. Credible forecasts indicate traffic and truck volumes will grow on average percent annually for the next years leading to a 0 percent increase in truck traffic. Routinely, Ohio s urban interstates carry,000 trucks daily per route, with these volumes to increase to,000 daily in years. Freight volumes will continue to rise for three basic factors. First, rising standards of living allow people to consume more, which results in more goods being produced and shipped. Second, international trade is a steadily growing part of the economy. Third, Just-In-Time inventory now is common and it requires constant supply of parts and distribution of finished product. August 03 Executive 1

4 These rising volumes have surpassed the capacity of Ohio s major highways. Ohio s interstate highways comprise percent of the state highway mileage but carry percent of all highway freight. The interstate highway system was started in 19 and by 0 it will note its th anniversary. It was built largely in the 1s and 19s. As was standard, it was built with a -year design horizon, meaning it was built to accommodate traffic volumes for years after the highway was opened. These routes were designed for the traffic volumes of the 19s and present volumes generally exceed capacity. Nearly all of Ohio s urban freeways are over capacity, especially ramps and interchanges in the crowded urban settings. Congestion and accidents are common on most Ohio urban freeways. I- in Toledo carries 19,000 trucks a day. It is 43 percent over capacity and averages 100 crashes per mile per year. A 1-mile stretch of I- in Cincinnati carries 4,000 vehicles daily, including 14,000 trucks. It averages accidents per year per mile. I- in Dayton carries,000 trucks a day and averages crashes per mile per year. The most congested location is the overlap of I- and I-1 in Columbus. This section is 4 percent over capacity and averages 4 accidents per year per mile. ODOT conservatively estimates it will require $3.4 billion to make the most critical urban freeway sections adequate. These high-cost bottleneck projects will dominate Ohio s urban transportation planning and budgeting efforts for at least the next years. While in the 19s and 1s, transportation efforts were dominated by the construction of the interstate highway system, the first two decades of the 1 st Century will be dominated by the need to reconstruct that system for 1 st Century demands. Ohio s capacity needs extend to its rural counties as well. Those rural capacity needs tend to fall into two categories. First is the need to address high volumes, particularly high truck volumes, on rural two-lane corridors. The second is the need to complete rural corridors to provide a coherent statewide network to isolated rural areas. Ohio has identified a network of Macro-corridors, which when completed will provide a modern, adequate highway corridor to every region of Ohio. This completed network would place more than percent of Ohio s population within 10 miles of an adequate corridor. These corridors provide the transportation platform upon which regions can develop economic development strategies. Within this context, Ohio faces three major transportation actions in the coming months. First, Congress is facing enactment of a new national energy policy. The House has passed a version of a new energy policy and the Senate is considering its own version. The Senate version addresses the long-standing ethanol penalty which costs Ohio about $1 million annually in lost transportation revenues. This problem is discussed in greater detail later in this document. If a House and Senate conference committee adopts the Senate version, Ohio could receive an additional $1 million annually to invest in its transportation system. Second, Congress must rewrite and renew the six-year federal transportation act. That act expires on Sept., 03. The new act will determine federal funding levels for the rest of this decade. The amount of money the state receives will determine the extent to which Ohio can address its transportation needs. In the last act passed in 199, Ohio s federal funding increased about $0 million annually. Proposals are pending in Congress including the ethanol fix which could increase Ohio s allocation by $ million or more in the upcoming bill. Gov. Taft proposes Ohio set a goal of receiving an additional $ million in the upcoming act. Third, the Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) begins hearings in August for a new round of decisions on which major projects to fund. The TRAC is the board of directors for Ohio s new capacity program. Normally, the TRAC funds a four-year program of projects, with a draft project list in November. The November 03 list will be historically important for two reasons. First, Gov. Taft instructs ODOT and the TRAC to look beyond the normal four-year horizon and to consider 10-year packages for several of these important mega-projects which are necessary to rebuild Ohio s interstate highway system. These projects are so large and so expensive that traditional cash funding cannot pay for them within a four-year TRAC cycle. In addition, the projects are so large their construction will have to occur in phases, in some cases for more than a decade. Second, ODOT now has the unprecedented ability to plan for a longer period. Because ODOT has stabilized its maintenance needs and can meet those maintenance needs with existing resources, it can allocate new resources to longterm capacity needs. Gov. Taft proposes a series of transportation policies to address the most pressing transportation issues facing Ohio at the mid-point of the 1 st Century s first decade. These policies will ensure maintenance needs are met, safety is Major Projects Figure 1 High-cost projects will dominate Ohio s transportation planning improved, congestion is addressed, Ohio s huge and growing freight volumes are accommodated and access is provided to Ohio s rural areas. Ohio s last major transportation initiative was the creation of the interstate highway network in the 19s and 1s. That effort met Ohio s transportation needs for the last half of the th Century. This package addresses Ohio s transportation needs for the first half of the 1 st Century Major Bridge TRAC Tier I TRAC Tier II Major Rehab 0-0 Major Rehab Executive August 03

5 POLICY 1 - SEEK A $ BILLION NEW CAPACITY PROGRAM Congress this year will address two key pieces of legislation which will have a direct bearing on Ohio s federal transportation revenue. The reauthorization of the transportation act and the enactment of a new federal energy bill will have a direct bearing on how much additional transportation funding Ohio will receive. Gov. Taft sets goal of achieving an annual $ million federal increase in core highway programs in the reauthorization of the current transportation bill and related energy bill. In return, he will direct ODOT and request the Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) to commit these additional funds to a long-term, new capacity program for Ohio. Ohio already has enacted a state motor fuel tax increase which provides ODOT $ million for 10 years for new construction. After that, ODOT may need those funds for maintenance and operations but it can devote those funds to new construction for at least a decade, from 0 through 1. A similar dedication of new revenue to capacity projects could occur with the federal increase. From 0 through 1, ODOT could direct new federal funds received from the transportation act to new construction. With the $ million in new federal funds, combined with $ million in state funds, Ohio could have an annual $0 million new capacity program for 10 years. This would be the largest amount of new construction spending for the longest time frame in Ohio s history. ODOT s new construction program has averaged about $4 million annually from 199 through 03. That level of spending would be increased, and more importantly, be sustained for a long, predictable 10-year planning period. The $ million in additional revenue would represent about a percent increase over Ohio s approximate $1 billion annual federal transportation allocation. A percent increase would be commensurate with the percent increase from the current transportation act passed in 199. The percent, $ million increase, could be achieved from the following steps: Enacting the ethanol provisions of S. 14, the Senate s energy bill. This bill would provide ODOT with between $1 million and $1 million annually by addressing the ethanol penalty. The bill shifts the ethanol tax break from the Highway Trust Fund to the general fund. That change would eliminate the loss to Ohio s federal highway revenue. This bill has cleared committee and is on the Senate floor. Once passed it will go to a conference committee, as the House has passed a separate bill. Enacting S. 10 or H.R. which would guarantee donor states a 9 percent return on their federal transportation taxes. This would raise another $0 million for Ohio. The bills have Senate co-sponsors and 1 House sponsors. Spending down Highway Trust Fund balances could provide Ohio $ million annually. Capturing Highway Trust Fund interest could provide $ million. Enacting a one-cent increase in the federal fuel tax would raise $0 million for Ohio. These credible steps present a realistic menu of options from which Congress could craft an annual $ million increase for Ohio. They also would redress two long-standing inequities. The first is Ohio s stature as a donor state which pays more in federal highway taxes than it receives. Ohio has been a donor state since the inception of the federal fuel tax in 19. Presently, Ohio receives about an percent rate of return. The second major reform would come from the energy legislation which would address the ethanol penalty. The federal motor fuel tax is.4 cents per gallon. However, for ethanol there is a. cent tax break to encourage ethanol use. In addition,. cents of the tax collected on ethanol goes to the federal general fund, not to the Highway Trust Fund. Between the two, nearly cents of the federal fuel tax does not accrue to each gallon of ethanol-blended fuel sold. Ohio is a large user of ethanol, with about percent of gallons sold in Ohio being an ethanol blend, compared to about percent nationally. Because Ohio s federal transportation returns are based upon Ohio s payments into the highway trust fund, the more ethanol Ohio uses the more revenue it loses. This loss falls disproportionately upon Ohio because ethanol use is regional, not national. Ethanol is produced primarily in Minnesota, Indiana and Illinois and sold in the Midwestern fuel market. Other large fuel markets such as New York, Florida, Texas and California use a much smaller percentage of ethanol and face much less of an ethanol penalty. Addressing this ethanol penalty has been a key issue for Gov. Taft. The House has passed a new energy bill which is silent on the ethanol issue. The Senate passed a bill out of committee to the Senate floor which does address it. The Senate bill shifts the tax break from the Highway Trust Fund to the general fund. This measure could restore between $1 million to $1 million annually to Ohio from ethanol losses. The Senate measure is expected to be passed by the full Senate and then sent to a Congressional conference committee to develop a compromise measure between the two chambers. A central component of Ohio s federal strategy will be to urge Congress to include the Senate language in the final version of the energy bill. Assuming an average increase of $1 million from the ethanol fix, enactment of the Senate version will provide more than half of Major New Projects the additional federal revenue that Ohio seeks. 3 Figure ODOT Major New Projects: 0-1 Gov. Taft sets a goal of achieving at least an annual $ million increase in the basic federal highway funding formulas. This increase could be achieved primarily by addressing the ethanol penalty and improving Ohio s rate of return on federal transportation taxes. If Ohio s Congressional delegation can secure a $ million increase, Gov. Taft proposes it be invested into a 10-year, $ billion new capacity program to update Ohio s transportation system Major New Project Locations August 03 Policy 1 - Seek a $ Billion New Capacity Program 3

6 POLICY - UNCLOG OHIO S ARTERIES Ohio's urban freeways have experienced years of steady traffic increases with little expansion. Nearly every downtown urban freeway section and interchange is over capacity and requires improvement. Improving only the most critical locations in all of Ohio's cities is estimated at $3.4 billion, according to ODOT studies. ODOT and the Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) face the need to develop a long-term approach to rebuilding Ohio's urban interstate highways and interchanges. These urban routes were built over three decades and their upgrade will take a similarly long time frame. When the interstate highways were created in 19, Congress adopted a special long-range plan for these routes and it adopted a dedicated long-range financing mechanism to pay for them. At the time, Congress enacted dedicated federal fuel taxes to underwrite the creation and completion of the interstate highway system. The routes in urban areas were identified through extensive planning efforts with each region and with the states. ODOT is engaged today in long-term planning studies in every region to identify how these routes need improved for current and future demands. In most cases, a broadranging panel of local residents, leaders and stakeholders are advising ODOT on which alternatives best meet the region's needs. The decisions reached on these studies will update the original configurations for Ohio's urban freeways that were developed in the 19s and 1s. Those original interstate highway system plans required years of sustained effort and political consensus to complete. Ohio faces little choice but to develop a long-term financial approach for the next generation of urban plans because of their cost and scope. Using cash, state bonds and federal bonds, ODOT and the TRAC can create financial packages to finance many of these major projects. For instance, a $3 million package in Dayton could rebuild I- in the 0 to 10 time period. By 0, ODOT would need a $0 million package to begin rebuilding the Central Viaduct in Cleveland. The I-/I-1 split in Columbus could be ready by 0 and would require up to $00 million. Many of the projects, such as Cleveland's Shoreway and Innerbelt project, actually are packages of projects that will be built in many stages over periods as long as years. ODOT has financed earlier projects such as I- in Columbus, the Maumee River Crossing in Toledo and the Southeast Ohio Plan with 10-year bonds. With the new revenue, ODOT would develop new funding packages for this next generation of "mega-projects." Such an expensive and long-term financial plan is necessary to raise the vast sums required. Such a plan also will require Ohio to work toward a long-term consensus. Such a program would stretch through the life of ODOT's 10- year annual $ million new construction program and would stretch through the next two federal transportation acts. Ohio's cities, its economic leaders and its Congressional members will need to cooperate so ODOT's state and federal revenue is dedicated to these needs through at least 1. Each urban project would be built in stages. Each stage could stand alone and be functional even if years pass before the total urban package is complete. Each urban project, however, would be similar to I- in Columbus which was constructed over many years but within a framework of a coherent, integrated plan designed to meet traffic needs for years. These projects give the cities an opportunity to replace originally functional but unattractive highway facilities with new, aesthetically pleasing urban highways. The attractive showcase that was built with Fort Washington Way in Cincinnati and is now under way with the Maumee River Crossing can be replicated in other Ohio cities. Gov. Taft directs ODOT and the TRAC to develop this year a 10-year financing plan to address as many of the critical high-cost urban freeway reconstruction projects as possible. ODOT has identified $3.4 billion of high-ranking critical projects, many of which could be addressed with the 10-year, $ billion funding package. ODOT shall consider individual bonding and financial packages for the urban projects that can provide adequate and predictable revenue so communities can predict when these projects will be constructed. In addition, ODOT shall continue Safety Hotspots and Congested Locations Figure 3 Ohio s Safety and Congestion Locations its efforts to work closely with the communities to design these projects to meet the region's environmental, economic development and neighborhood aspirations Safety Hotspot Congested Location Policy - Unclog Ohio s Arteries August 03

7 POLICY 3 - MAINTAIN FOR THE FUTURE The first priority of any transportation department is to maintain its existing infrastructure. A department cannot afford to expand its system if it is not meeting basic system maintenance needs. One of the major constraints for long-term transportation planning has been maintenance needs have consumed most transportation agencies' available revenue. That has left the agencies with little ability to determine when and if they will have revenue for major system expansion. ODOT now has achieved a major milestone. It has focused extensive planning, construction and maintenance efforts to stabilize its basic roadway conditions. Although Ohio has one of the largest highway networks in the country, it now has among the highest level of bridge and pavement conditions. In 199, 1 percent of Ohio's pavements on its interstate highways and freeways were deficient. That number had grown steadily for nearly a decade and it was unclear what level of funding or what level of construction was necessary to stabilize that all-important component of the highway network. At the same time, ODOT's structural deficiencies on its bridge inventory stood at percent. Ohio has the second largest inventory of bridges. At that time, ODOT lacked the ability to forecast what level of spending and construction would be necessary to sustain its bridge inventory or its pavements at an acceptable level. Since 199, Ohio's priority system pavements which are the expensive interstates and freeways have improved dramatically. The priority system pavement deficiencies fell from 1 percent of the system in 199 to about. percent of the system at the end of 0. Rural two-lane pavement conditions have remained constant at 3 percent deficient. Pavements on urban state routes declined slightly from 3 percent deficient in 199 compared to percent in 0. In addition, ODOT has focused on using improved materials, pavement designs and preventive maintenance. This has reduced the rate of pavement degradation each year on the new pavements. In other words, Ohio's pavements are in better condition, they appear to be lasting longer and ODOT has better tools to forecast their future condition. It appears ODOT can sustain its present acceptable bridge and pavement preservation needs with existing revenue and current levels of effort. ODOT has conducted an extensive two-year-long effort to forecast the rate of change and needed investment levels for its system for the next two decades. Approximately $0 million is needed annually to design and construct pavement and bridge projects on the ODOT system. If grown annually by 1 percent, ODOT predicts that level of effort will sustain today's acceptable condition levels through at least 1. Another $ million in operating revenue is needed, and available. About $0 million of this will be used for payroll, with the remaining used for equipment, materials, supplies, salt and facilities. Figure 4 illustrates the "demographics" of pavement conditions on Ohio's major routes from 199 to 1. In the graphic, red indicates deficient pavements and green indicates acceptable pavements, as measured on a 100 point Pavement Condition Rating system. Pavement deficiencies grew steadily in the 19s and were stabilized by 01. ODOT's experience in recent years and its forecasting indicate by sustaining current levels of pavement spending at $3 million in 04 rising to $0 million in 1 it can keep percent of the major route pavements acceptable through 1. Included in that expenditure is about $1 million annually to systematically replace Ohio's original interstate pavements. In 03, 3 percent of the original interstate pavements have been replaced. By 0, percent will have been replaced and by 1 0 percent will have been replaced. A well-planned, long-term pavement management strategy to sustain new pavements combined with the steady replacement of old "exhausted" pavements can sustain Ohio's pavements at acceptable levels. For the rural twolane system, today's $1 million annual allocation has achieved stable, acceptable conditions. Growing that at 1 percent annually through 1 should sustain conditions. In addition, ODOT voluntarily provides $ million to Ohio's cities for paving on state routes within cities, which would be continued. Likewise, Ohio has allocated $0 million annually for bridge repair and replacement. That level has reduced Ohio's bridge deficiencies and appears to be an adequate annual investment to sustain conditions through 1. Ohio has stabilized its bridge and pavement conditions and it has forecasted the level of effort necessary to sustain those conditions through at least 1. Gov. Taft directs ODOT to adopt as policy this "asset management" approach which will continue in future years to sustain its basic system conditions at the current "steady state." With the maintenance needs met, ODOT can direct any additional resources to system improvement. 100% Statewide Priority System Pavement Conditions % Statewide Bridges General Appraisal % Lane Miles % 0% % % 0% Acceptable Pavements - PCR >= % Unacceptable Pavements - PCR < % Figure 4 Ohio s pavement and bridge deficiencies have significantly stabilized % Square Feet Deficient % 4% % August 03 Policy 3 - Maintain for the Future

8 POLICY 4 - INCREASE HIGHWAY SAFETY As congestion worsened significantly in recent years, crash patterns have changed. Congested freeway locations are now becoming the sites of Ohio's highest number of accidents. While Ohio has seen progress in reducing injury crashes, the total number of crashes has risen and the number of annual fatalities on Ohio's roads remains unacceptably high at about 1,0. ODOT believes two roadway factors contributed to the safety plateau. First, Ohio's population has dispersed to rural and suburban areas where more people are driving on inadequate rural roads. Rural roads have one-third of Ohio's traffic but one-half of Ohio's fatalities. Secondly, Ohio's freeway and major routes have disproportionately congested choke points that contribute to accidents. Forty-three percent of Ohio's freeway crashes occur on 1 percent of the freeway system. Twenty-four percent occur on just percent of the system. On the twolane system, 19 percent of the crashes occur on percent of the system. In other words, Ohio has a select group of target-rich accident sites which disproportionately produce crashes. If Ohio addresses the high-crash sites it can significantly reduce crashes. These crash sites break down into approximately two categories. First are relatively low-cost locations that could be addressed for about $ million or less. Approximately $00 million worth of such locations have been identified by ODOT s recent congestion and safety analysis efforts. While a cost of $00 million appears daunting, ODOT has the resources to address these over a decade. ODOT currently spends $ million annually on fixing high-crash locations. Those funds are committed to specific projects through 0, but not beyond. Gov. Taft directs ODOT to use $ million of new state motor fuels tax revenue to double the amount spent addressing high-accident locations to $0 million. Over 10 years, this will result in $00 million focused on addressing these high-crash sites. The second set of crash sites are at locations that require improvements which cost much more than $ million. Those sites must be addressed by ODOT's Major New Construction program. 19.4% of Non-Freeway Crashes Occur on 1.9% of Non-Freeway System Figure Non-Freeway and Freeway High-Crash Locations Office of Traffic Engineering Crash Data The safety program comprises only a small part of ODOT's overall efforts to create safe highways. All of ODOT's efforts to treat snow and ice, repair guardrail, maintain pavement markings and signs, reduce shoulder drop offs and maintain pavement conditions all directly relate to safety Non-Freeway Accidents Greater Than ODOT will double spending to address high-crash locations to $0 million annually beginning in SFY 04. ODOT will systematically rank the high-accident locations and schedule them for improvement. This effort is not new. What is new is the magnitude of the effort and that an increasing amount of the effort will be in urban areas. Traditionally, as a home rule state, the cities and counties have been the lead entities to address urban highcrash locations. Under this new policy, the state will provide additional funding to address the improvement of high-accident locations, a growing number of which are in cities. ODOT will retain the existing level of effort to address crashes on the rural system. 4.% of Freeway Crashes Occur on 1.% of Freeway System Office of Traffic Engineering Crash Data Freeway Accidents Greater Than 0 Policy 4 - Increase Highway Safety August 03 4

9 POLICY - COMPLETE OHIO S RURAL CORRIDOR NETWORK As often noted, Ohio has America s fifth highest volume of truck traffic and the third greatest value of truck freight on its highways. These truck volumes spill over onto Ohio s two-lane routes, which are least capable of handling them. Figure illustrates Ohio s two-lane routes that carry percent, percent or percent truck traffic. These routes closely parallel ODOT s Macro-corridor system, especially in Northwest Ohio. ODOT has had an explicit policy of completing the Macro-corridor network since 199. Under that policy ODOT has largely completed U.S. from Dayton to Gallipolis, advanced most of U.S. between Bucyrus and East Canton, completed most of U.S. from Columbus to the Ohio River and completed much of SR /1/ U.S. 3 from Columbus to I-. ODOT has about $1. billion worth of uncompleted Macro-corridor projects. When upgraded, this network of projects will accomplish two strategic objectives. First, it will address the most critical two-lane routes which are overwhelmed with truck volumes, particularly U.S. and U.S. 4. Second, it will extend to all regions of Ohio an adequate transportation corridor sufficient to support the region s economic development. When completed, the Macro-corridor system will put more than percent of Ohio s population within 10 miles of a major corridor. This was an explicit policy objective of Ohio to provide all regions with an infrastructure platform upon which to base their economic development. This approach to corridor completion should continue. Two slightly different but important areas will be emphasized by ODOT. First, Gov. Taft directs ODOT to continue its emphasis on rural corridor completion. While much progress has been made in recent years, selected routes remain uncompleted on the rural corridor network. Sections such as SR /3 between New Albany and Newark are important both from a safety and congestion standpoint but also from an economic competitiveness standpoint. Likewise, a Portsmouth Bypass will provide an important link in Scioto County between U.S. and major expressways and interstate highways in Kentucky and West Virginia. Studies on U.S. east of Canton and U.S. east of Alliance should continue to determine the most appropriate needs on those unimproved Macro-corridor links. Second, Gov. Taft directs ODOT and the Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) to develop a Northwest Ohio Freight Corridor plan to address the most pressing highway freight issues in that region. Northwest Ohio is one of the busiest freight regions in the world. The area generates high freight volumes because of its own manufacturing base and because of its proximity to the Detroit automotive industry. The existence of Lake Erie forces landbased transport to and from Detroit and Chicago to pass through Northwest Ohio. Finally, this region is a natural hub for highway, rail and water transport because of its location between Chicago and the East Coast. The finance package would allow expedited and certain construction of the final section of U.S. in western Ohio and U.S. 4. This package would cost about $ million. It would complete all of U.S. 4 from the Indiana border to near Toledo. It also would complete the last section of U.S. in Hancock County. With these two corridors complete, Northwest Ohio would have a safe and extensive freight corridor network which would complement the Ohio Turnpike and I-. This package would be analogous to the Southeast Ohio Plan which also cost about $0 million. That 199 plan has allowed ODOT to complete the major Southeast Ohio corridors of U.S., U.S. and advance the Portsmouth Bypass and the Chesapeake Bypass. Gov. Taft asks the TRAC to consider including in the Northwest Ohio plan improvements to the I-/I-4 interchange in Toledo. That point is a critical freight gateway for Ohio and is severely congested. The freeway includes several small, outdated interchanges which are being studied for consolidation into fewer but safer modern interchanges. The consolidation of those interchanges also complements the expansion plans of Toledo s largest hospital, the Pro-Medica center, as it plans to modernize its health campus. Preliminary estimates are that for two projects, one at $ million and one at $ million, the I- Macro-Corridor Highway System Jobs and Progress Plan Figure Ohio s Macro-corridor system remains uncompleted Macro-Corridor Multi-Lane System Macro-Corridor Funded Macro-Corridor Under Study Macro-Corridor Not Under Study Other State System Highways August 03 Policy - Complete Ohio s Rural Corridor Network

10 Jobs and Progress Plan /I-4 problems can be addressed. Including the I-/ I-4 project into the Northwest Ohio Freight Corridor Plan would raise the total cost to approximately $0 million, which would most likely be financed through a combination of cash payments by the TRAC for certain projects and a special bond package dedicated to these projects. A final component of the Northwest Ohio Freight Corridor Plan would be a study of how to attract additional truck traffic to the Ohio Turnpike. The Turnpike and its parallel routes carry tens of billions of dollars worth of truck freight annually. Any major freeway affects traffic upon its adjacent highways. The Turnpike, as Ohio s only toll road, affects adjacent routes differently than I- affects its adjacent routes. Routes parallel to the turnpike include significant truck traffic from some percentage of truck drivers who avoid tolls. The parallel routes of U.S., SR, SR and others have disproportionately large truck volumes compared to comparable routes. could fine tune or calibrate the Northwest Ohio highway network to accommodate ever-growing freight volumes. As mentioned earlier, Ohio predicts a 0 percent increase in truck freight over the next years. With Northwest Ohio facing some of the largest freight volumes in the country, this package of projects would prepare the region s transportation system to meet 1st Century freight demands. ODOT repeatedly has modeled and studied freight patterns in Northwest Ohio. Those studies have indicated truck volumes on U.S. 4 and U.S. will remain high regardless of what happens on the Ohio Turnpike. The trucks on those routes are coming from or going to destinations that are not served by the Turnpike as an efficient alternative. Therefore, improving U.S. and U.S. 4 will be required regardless of what inducements are offered by the Turnpike. This package proposed by Gov. Taft would widen the routes that face unavoidable truck traffic and would attempt to maximize use of the Ohio Turnpike to alleviate truck volumes on parallel routes. Rural -Lane Highways Carrying Over % Truck Traffic and Macro-Corridor Project Locations Gov. Taft directs ODOT and the Ohio Turnpike to conduct a study to examine ways in which trucks could be induced to divert from parallel routes to the turnpike. Inducements could include rebates to truckers from increased fuel tax receipts, reduced tolls, streamlined toll collection or other measures. Any suggested remedies will have to consider the Turnpike s need to meet its bond obligations and future maintenance needs. The study, however, also needs to consider the on-going higher maintenance and congestion costs Ohio faces on its parallel routes, which experience diverted trucks. Taken as a package the improvement of U.S. and U.S. 4, the upgrade of the I-/I-4 interchanges, and the pulling of trucks from parallel routes to the Turnpike Gov. Taft directs ODOT and urges the TRAC to complete Ohio s rural Macro-corridor network as much as possible. The TRAC and ODOT should strive to complete the network to provide adequate access to all regions of Ohio. In addition, ODOT and the TRAC should develop a detailed financing plan on how to deliver a Northwest Ohio Freight Corridor Program, which would allow construction of U.S. 4, U.S. and possibly improvements to I-/I-4 in Toledo. In addition, ODOT and the Ohio Turnpike should conduct a thorough analysis of ways to increase truck traffic on the Turnpike by attracting trucks from the parallel state routes. In total, these steps would address the most pressing freight issues in Northwest Ohio Rural -Lane Carrying > % Trucks Macro-Corridor Projects Rural -Lane State Highways Other State Highways Figure Macro-corridor projects on U.S. 4 and U.S. would address truck volumes Policy - Complete Ohio s Rural Corridor Network August 03