CLEVELAND (AP) -- Ohio may adjust the order of road and bridge projects listed in a draft plan that would delay some work for years, the state transportation chief said.
The list was released last month and approved by the state panel that oversees funding for high-cost transportation projects, leading to backlash from some local officials unhappy about potentially delayed projects, such as work on Interstate 90 in Cleveland, the Plain Dealer (http://bit.ly/odd0Hf ) reported Saturday.
Ohio Department of Transportation director Jerry Wray said Friday that public safety and other criteria will be added to the factors considered in deciding which projects take priority. That means the Cleveland bridge or others might move higher on the list, though it's not clear how much more quickly the projects could proceed if that happens.
He said the Cleveland bridge is "without a doubt" the kind of project that would shoot toward the top of the list. But he warned northern Ohio officials that bumping up some projects could push back others.
ODOT staffers had recommended last month that planned work on some bridge and road projects be delayed by as many as 19 years, citing a lack of funds and over-commitment by previous administrations.
The announcement that the completion of the second Inner Belt Bridge might be more than a decade away, instead of just a few years, riled officials in Cleveland and spurred a push to find more money to get it done sooner, the newspaper said.
Wray, Mayor Frank Jackson and others on Friday discussed how the state might be able to get the $350 million needed to finish the project, such as pursuing federal grant money, privatizing rest stops along routes that aren't interstates, or finding a way to boost how much the state gets in federal transportation funding. They're aiming to get funding to finish the bridge by 2018.
They said ODOT will seek full funding for the project through a competitive grant program but doesn't expect to receive it.
"We'll ask for everything and hope to get something," Republican Rep. Steve LaTourette said.
He and Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich are pushing to change the law to allow privatization of highway rest stops. Ohio owns dozens of highway rest stops, and officials believe the state could make $50 million to put toward transportation projects by leasing rest stop space to restaurants and having a contractor handle the maintenance.
Wray said savings from the relative mild winter this year also may free up more funding for projects.
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