10 in House press to revive turnpike study

TOLEDO BLADE
BY DAVID PATCH

Ten members of Ohio's congressional delegation have asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to reconsider its decision last week to rescind federal funding for an Ohio Department of Transportation study of management options for the OhioTurnpike.

"We do not agree with the assessment outlined in a recent letter by other members of Ohio's congressional delegation that ODOT's use of these funds is unjustified and that a particular policy with respect to the Ohio Turnpike has already been decided," U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette (R., Bainbridge) wrote in the letter, co-signed by nine colleagues, to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The federal State Planning and Research Funds program, from which $1.5 million had been approved in September for a turnpike study, was created specifically to help states explore ways to manage and develop their transportation assets effectively, the letter said.

"It is indeed puzzling that the FHWA [Federal Highway Adminstration] would now deny Ohio the resources to study the best alternative for its assets," it said. "We continue to be optimistic that DOT will see its way clear to permit Ohio to find ways to keep its roads in good repair and allow people desperately desiring to build roads, produce stone, asphalt, and concrete to find work."

Cathy St. Denis, a highway administration spokesman, said that while Ohio's initial grant application stated a purpose that qualified for the funding, the formal Request for Proposals ODOT issued afterward was too narrowly focused on a single potential outcome: leasing the turnpike to private investors.

"As originally written and approved, Ohio's request to conduct a research study -- with no specifics attached to it -- was eligible for State Planning and Research [SPR] funds," Ms. St. Denis said in a prepared statement. "However, the Request for Proposal [RFP] subsequently written was for a services contract to solely support privatization of the Ohio Turnpike, which is not an eligible use of SPR funds."

Were ODOT to prepare a new proposal that was not tailored to a specific outcome, she wrote, its grant funding likely would be reinstated.

Mr. LaTourette's letter stated that a lease is one of only several options for "leveraging the turnpike in a way that benefits all Ohio taxpayers." Alternatives could include contracting out turnpike maintenance or folding the Ohio Turnpike Commission's operations into ODOT.

Co-signing the letter were U.S. Reps. Pat Tiberi, Bill Johnson, Steve Stivers, Jim Renacci, Jean Schmidt, Bob Gibbs, Steve Austria, Jim Jordan, and Steve Chabot. All are Republicans.

The letter protesting the funding had been written by U.S. Reps. Marcy Kaptur, Dennis Kucinich, Tim Ryan, and Betty Sutton, all Democrats. Mr. LaHood's office announced the grant's cancellation Oct. 7, two days after that letter's submittal.

Mr. LaTourette's letter said ODOT had been urged to resubmit its Request for Proposals and "we trust it will receive the same speedy consideration of our colleagues' letter of last week."

The Kasich administration has promoted a lease as a way to raise money to pay for transportation projects. Critics say the idea would cost Ohio money in the long run and could also result in 1,000 turnpike jobs being eliminated.