The Nelsonville bypass, one of the highest-priority projects in Ohio, can't be given more funding to finish sooner because of the many other high-priority transportation projects in the state.
Phase two of the three-phase bypass project cannot begin until all other high-priority projects ' also called Tier-1 projects ' proposed before it have been started. This is typical for construction projects around the state, said Scott Varner, deputy director of the Ohio Department of Transportation.
It is how the sections are budgeted out
he said. They are extended over a period of time.
Phase one is scheduled to end in 2009, and phases two and three were originally scheduled to begin in 2008 and 2009, respectively, said Stephanie Filson, an ODOT spokeswoman. Now, phase two will begin in 2012 and phase three will begin in 2015 because of the other Tier-1 projects ahead of them.
The state grants funding only to Tier-1 projects, and funding cannot be given to new major construction projects or lower-priority projects until the older Tier-1 projects have begun, according to the Ohio Transportation Budget Bill.
The wording of the bill prevents the governor or another higher power from demoting a Tier-1 project to provide more funding for another project, said state Rep. Jimmy Stewart, R-Albany.
Ohio legislators passed ODOT's budget bill in March, setting a $3.2 billion budget for 2008 and $3 billion for 2009, said Keith Dailey, spokesman for Gov. Ted Strickland.
The total budget for the Nelsonville bypass is approximately $200 million, Varner said.
The first phase of the project is budgeted at $21.5 million.
Many Tier-1 projects, including the Nelsonville bypass project, have been delayed as a result of so many Tier-1 projects making funding thin, Stewart said.
Additionally, an almost 40 percent increase in the cost of construction materials has slowed the start of projects like the bypass, Varner said.
Several factors contributed to the increase Varner said, such as the rising price of oil the growing demands of raw materials in the world market and the lingering effect of Hurricane Katrina.
The state implemented a gas tax to help with the funding of transportation projects around the state, and ODOT had seen a steady growth in the amount of revenue coming from the tax over the past four years but has now been seeing a decrease in revenue, Varner said.
The fewer gallons of gas sold
the less revenue we have to spend on (transportation) projects
said Ohio Sen. Joy Padgett, R-Coshocton.
The bypass would finish the state Route 33 highway updates, connecting southeast Ohio to Columbus by going around Nelsonville. The contract for the first phase, which consists of excavating dirt along the bypass route and was started this fall, was awarded Aug. 29 to Kokosing Construction Company Inc.
17
Archives
Angie Weaver
