Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) appreciates the opportunity to share our thoughts on the 2026-2029 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).
ODOT has done great work in maintaining Ohio’s transportation infrastructure systems. In the categories of Preservation and system efficiency, ODOT has exceeded all goals set by an average of 2.45%.
Likewise, ODOT has generally met or exceeded its goals for environmental justice, staying either at or below targets in 7 of 10 categories. We commend ODOT for being significantly below population targets in high minority and poverty communities related to property acquisition and waterway impacts, and for meeting or exceeding the percentage of bridge improvements and road and bridge projects in target minority and poverty communities. We are, however, concerned about the significantly disproportionate lack of investment in pavement improvements in poverty communities as demonstrated in figure 5.4 of the STIP and hope this can be addressed going forward.
We applaud ODOT for demonstrating fiscal constraints in the STIP, as evidenced by the 0% growth assumptions for 2026-2029, though this too could be optimistic in the face of declining motor fuel tax revenues and uncertainty around federal project funding (particularly the recent freeze in grants related to active transportation).
Regarding the overall project list: of the 9,819 projects included on the Highway Project List, we identified 990 projects that fall under the umbrella of active transportation, which we used to include bike facilities, enhanced crossings, bike/ped non-infrastructure, ped facilities, shared use paths, and transit. These projects constitute 10% of the overall project list included in the STIP, a respectable number given the overall project list.
These projects account for $3,344,735,134.80 out of the full Highway Project List of $105,380,452,027.41. This accounts for 3.17% of projects. Recognizing these projects are more cost effective than other projects, this does pale in comparison to the $9.4 billion in STIP Highway Projects that add through lanes (77 projects/8.9%) or the $12.2 billion for Interchange Expansion (excluding safety) and New Roadways (including jobs/commerce projects) (53 projects/11.6%).
GOPC continues to belief that ODOT and partner agencies must prioritize investment in maintaining existing infrastructure and promoting alternative modes of transportation ahead of expanding our already significant transportation infrastructure network.
Moving forward, we would like to see growth in these areas as future projects make their way through the development pipeline and will continue to emphasize these priorities through TRAC and the Access Ohio 2050 process.