MOUNT VERNON — Gov. Ted Strickland on Thursday announced that 149 transportation infrastructure projects have been prioritized for full or partial funding from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act resources.
Federal transportation stimulus funds totaling $774 million will be spent in 87 of Ohio’s 88 counties. The $1.1 million listed for Knox County is actually for combined projects in Knox and Muskingum counties, according to Kate Sickel, public information officer for the Ohio Department of Transportation.
“The money is for various structures throughout Knox and Muskingum counties, but mostly in Muskingum,” she said. “In Knox, it’s Ohio 13 at mile marker 12.98.”
The bridge which will be rehabbed in Knox County is one mile north of Mount Vernon, at Green Valley Road. The money is slated for the milling and resurfacing of the approach to the bridge.
“It’s very important for the maintenance of the bridges to try to do this preventive maintenance,” said Sickel.
Of the $774 million allocated to Ohio, ODOT will spend $603.5 million on 113 separate roadway projects. Of those 113, 30 are bridge projects and 83 are pavement projects.
Strickland said that based on federal calculations for transportation investment, an estimated 21,257 jobs will be created or retained through these stimulus projects, with thousands of additional jobs likely to be spurred by the economic development that will occur as a result of the projects.
Other projects include $34.5 million for five maritime projects, including major enhancement projects at the Port of Toledo and the city of Lorain’s waterfront development along Lake Erie, and along the Ohio River at the South Point Intermodal Facility in Lawrence County, and the Wellsville Intermodal Facility in Columbiana County. An additional $68.9 million will be for 22 separate railroad projects, mostly targeting the state’s freight rail system.
The state will invest $50.9 million to support improved intermodal connections, including $14 million at Franklin County’s Rickenbacker Intermodal Terminal and Global Logistics Park, and $6.5 million at Toledo’s Airline Junction Intermodal Terminal to connect freight shipments by air, rail and truck.
The remaining funds, approximately $16.2 million, will be directed to additional planning and engineering, as needed.
Major projects include a new five-lane westbound I-90 Innerbelt Bridge in Cleveland and a proposed 3.3-mile urban roadway to connect I-490 to the University Circle; development of the Riverfront Banks Project and the nearby Intermodal Transit Center in Cincinnati; and widen and improve Parsons and Livingston Avenues as part of the expansion of Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
In Southeast Ohio, ODOT will expedite construction on the final two phases of the three-phased Nelsonville Bypass. Phase one of this new four-lane roadway carrying U.S. 33 between the cities of Nelsonville and Logan began last year.
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Ohio will also receive $29.8 million for Rural Public Transit capital projects, including dollars set aside for rural intercity bus capital projects.
