CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The head of the Ohio Department of Transportation says the agency could move projects like the Inner Belt Bridge higher on a controversial funding list so they can get done more quickly.
But how high the second phase of the Inner Belt project will go and how soon it could get started is not clear.
Jerry Wray said public safety concerns and other factors will be added to the criteria ODOT uses to decide the order in which projects will be rolled out.
The bridge project is the type that would move to the top, Wray said. "Without a doubt."
Local officials have been in an uproar since last month when ODOT and Wray announced that the second Inner Belt Bridge wouldn't be done until sometime after 2023, instead of 2016.
Wray joined U.S. Reps. Dennis Kucinich and Steve LaTourette, Mayor Frank Jackson and others in a briefing to explain how the state might gather $350 million needed to complete the project.
New money sources include boosting Ohio's yearly take of federal transportation dollars, landing a big federal grant and privatizing rest stops along non-interstate routes.
None of the strategies are guaranteed to pay off, officials acknowledged.
Related Plain Dealer coverage
- LaTourette, Kucinich and Jackson rally to find funding for Inner Belt Bridge
Previous Plain Dealer coverage
- New Inner Belt Bridge rising in the Cuyahoga River valley, despite rain delays (
- Inner Belt's second bridge must be ODOT's top priority, Cuyahoga County official says (
- Funding for second bridge could take a back seat to statewide projects (
- Anger in Cleveland City Hall burns anew with possible delay of money for West Shoreway project (
- Cleveland's business, traffic would suffer if second Inner Belt Bridge is delayed a decade, officials say (
- ODOT says money for second Inner Belt Bridge might not come until 2020s (
But the firestorm following ODOT's release of a draft funding list on Jan. 17 has ignited collaboration to find more money for the bridge project, wherever possible.
ODOT has said an over-promised and under-funded budget would result in big-ticket projects, like the second Inner Belt Bridge, being delayed by a decade or more.
The projects would roll out when they were ready and when the money was available. Wraysaid Friday that the state highway agency could now re-order the draft list based on safety and other criteria.
He cautioned regional leaders that if one project moves up the funding list, another could move down.
Earlier Friday morning, Wray joined the two congressmen and Jackson near the current Inner Belt Bridge and close to construction for the first new I-90 span, scheduled to open in late 2013.
Original plans called for the existing bridge to be demolished and a second one to open in its place by 2016.
Officials said they now hope to complete the entire project by 2018, if not sooner, by pressing for new money on several fronts, including:
*Applying for a hefty federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
ODOT will apply for the grant under the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. The competitive-grant program uses a rigorous process to select projects that can be delivered quickly and cost effectively.
The state will apply for the total $350 million cost of the bridge project, but doesn't expect to get it.
"We'll ask for everything and hope to get something," said LaTourette, a Republican from Bainbridge Township.
LaTourette said the state has political heft, especially in an election year. The need for the bridge is well known, from President Barack Obama down.
Kucinich, a Democrat from Cleveland, buttonholed the president immediately after his recent State of the Union address.
Jackson and local leaders met privately last week with the U.S. DOT's chief operating officer.
*More money from a new transportation bill.
Both the U.S. House and Senate are debating bills to re-authorize funding for transportation needs nationwide.
A series of temporary extensions have delivered relatively flat gas-tax money to Ohio and other states.
A five-year bill in the House would send Ohio $1.3 billion a year. That's an increase of about 12.3 percent over this year's amount, excluding earmarks.
It amounts to about $146 million more per year for ODOT. The Senate version would result in even more money.
*Commercializing up to 57 rest stops that Ohio owns on state and U.S. routes.
Contracting out maintenance at the rest stops and leasing space to restaurants could deliver $50 million or more a year for major projects in the state, officials said.
LaTourette and Kucinich are pushing for a change in law that would allow the rest-stop privatization.
Truck stops and other competitors are expected to oppose it.
Wray said ODOT is looking at multiple ways to save money, freeing up more cash for big projects. For example, millions of dollars could be available this year because of the mild winter, he said.
ODOT is also studying a possible lease of the Ohio Turnpike to generate big bucks, a move that's opposed by many officials across northern Ohio.