Skip to main content

ODoT targets transportation funding solutions and alternatives

Jerry Wray, Ohio Department of Transportation (ODoT) director, has officially announced the Division of Innovative Delivery, a move he says is critical to identifying innovative and alternative funding solutions and advancing the agency’s goal developing long-term, sustainable solutions to fund future transportation construction projects. By reducing agency costs, commercialising non-interstate rest areas and seeking sponsorship and naming rights for certain infrastructure projects, the Ohio Department of T
March 22, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSJerry Wray, Ohio Department of Transportation (ODoT) director, has officially announced the Division of Innovative Delivery, a move he says is critical to identifying innovative and alternative funding solutions and advancing the agency’s goal developing long-term, sustainable solutions to fund future transportation construction projects.

By reducing agency costs, commercialising non-interstate rest areas and seeking sponsorship and naming rights for certain infrastructure projects, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODoT) could save nearly US$200 million annually and billions more could be generated or saved by leveraging state-owned assets and exploring public, private partnerships.

“ODoT shares the desire of many communities to get local transportation projects finished more timely, but our current funding situation simply will not allow it,” said Wray. “All of our projects are high priority. They all involve some component of economic development, congestion relief and safety. That is why it is crucial to come together as policy leaders and seek out innovative and alternative funding solutions in the days, months and years to come.”

ODoT recently hired Jim Riley to lead the department’s Division of Innovative Delivery. He has more than 23 years of private sector experience, where he worked to develop innovative and sustainable funding solutions for major transportation projects in Ohio, Virginia, Texas, Illinois, and Georgia.

A complete review of all transportation projects is currently underway to identify those that could be potential candidates for public/private partnerships (P3’s), as well as additional sources of revenue to aid in the funding of major transportation projects throughout the state. Details of the review are expected later this year.

Related Content

  • Benefits of traffic data sharing with app developers
    November 10, 2015
    Timothy Compston finds out if exchanging traffic and road condition data with private app developers makes sense for both drivers and road authorities. Much has been said about the potential benefits for authorities in sharing data with traffic and navigation app developers, and receiving ‘crowdsourced’ information in return – so how is it working in practice?
  • Mega trends will challenge transport technology
    June 5, 2015
    Jon Masters investigates some of the longer term trends that will shape transportation over the next 20 years. Business analysts and investors have already placed their bets on a future of technological smart mobility services. In December last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that Uber, the on-demand taxi and lift share smartphone app and start-up business, had been valued at $41.2 billion which, as the Journal reported, is an incredible vote of confidence for a company only five years old.
  • ITS solutions to keep truck traffic moving
    June 8, 2015
    David Crawford reviews freight management initiatives. Managing truck traffic to minimise its environmental impacts, without adversely impacting on its critical economic role, continues to drive ITS-based solutions in both urban and interurban contexts.
  • Transport planning consultation is culturally important
    February 2, 2012
    Andrew Bardin Williams explores the efforts under way in North Dakota to consult with native tribes during the early stages of transportation project development. These efforts have led to the signing of a Programmatic Agreement between the state DOT and local tribes and the creation of a tribal consultation committee that allows Native Americans to advise on the identification, evaluation and treatment of historic properties, including those of religious and cultural significance