September 25, 2019

ODOT Outlines Cost Savings to Ohio House Subcommittee

The Ohio Department of Transportation is about 10% of the way toward its goal of finding $100 million in savings over the next four years, members of an Ohio House panel were told yesterday.

William O'Gorman, deputy director of legislative and intergovernmental affairs, told members of the House Finance Transportation Subcommittee that the initiative, dubbed One Red Lion, has resulted in about $11 million in savings to date. (See Video of subcommittee presentation)

"The director has made it clear to all ODOT employees that no idea is too big or too small," he said. "Whether it's a thousand-dollar idea or a million-dollar idea, we are listening. To date, over 750 ideas have been generated from all levels of ODOT – from equipment sharing/efficiency, to improved procurement or personnel decisions."

Mr. O'Gorman said some cuts have come from eliminating unnecessary contracts. The largest savings, he said, came from a change in ODOT's bridge load rating requirements, which saved $5.3 million.

Mr. O'Gorman said that thanks to the two-year transportation budget, the department was able to avoid delaying maintenance, safety and capacity adding projects.

Over the course of the next two years, ODOT will pave and maintain nearly 1,500 additional lane miles of road and address more than 450 additional bridge projects.

A top priority for Gov. DeWine and the department is safety, the witness said. On that front, the agency has identified the state's 150 most dangerous intersections and has developed a plan to improve those locations.

Mr. O'Gorman also highlighted a Cincinnati-area project in which the department is outfitting 23 ramps along an 18-mile stretch of Interstate 71 with 92 electronic signs and 82 detection devices to alert drivers that they are entering the interstate the wrong way.

The additional funding in the spending outline will also allow ODOT to move forward with considering and funding major new capacity projects through the Transportation Review Advisory Council. Mr. O'Gorman said that 27 project applications received have been scored and a final list will be developed by November 6th.

Source: Gongwer News Service