ODOT Out Of Money

The agency responsible for constructing and maintaining Ohio’s highways and state routes says it’s out of money. The Ohio Department of Transportation is funded by federal and state gas taxes. And ODOT Director Jerry Wray said in August that there was trouble ahead. "We are facing a crisis and mostly the crisis relates to federal funding. Most people don’t understand that we are a state administered but federally driven program. We depend upon federal money." Wray now says the state received 72 new construction applications totaling $10 billion last year, and there are already $2 billion in projects underway. But ODOT only has about $100 million a year for new construction. Wray says some projects will be rejected, and others pushed back for decades, while the state looks for ways to cut costs and generate funds – which could include leasing the Ohio Turnpike.