The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) is seeking comments on projects for which funding is being requested from the Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).
TRAC is integral in evaluating and selecting many of ODOT’s largest transportation project investments, funded through the Major New Capacity Program. These are projects that have a total project cost of more than $12 million, add transportation capacity, and are critical to the mobility, economic development, and quality of life of Ohio residents. The 2024 application period closed at the end of May, with five projects from the MORPC Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) region and two projects from the CORPO Rural Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO) region, including Fairfield, Franklin, Knox, and Pickaway counties, submitting applications for funding. Final funding decisions by TRAC are expected later this year.
As part of the selection process, ODOT requests that MPOs, like MORPC, and RTPOs, like CORPO, facilitate local input by prioritizing the applications for projects within the agency’s transportation planning boundaries.
“Central Ohio is growing rapidly – on pace to reach 3.15 million people by 2050. Projects like these are essential for preparing and accommodating this growth within our mobility network,” said MORPC’s Chief Mobility and Infrastructure Officer & Senior Director of Programming Parag Agrawal. “The prioritization process involves a thorough analysis of each project to ensure alignment with the region’s transportation and development goals as detailed in the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP).”
The public is invited to provide feedback on each application to better understand local perspectives.
“These applications represent more than $270 million in funding requests for our region. We are asking community members to share their input on these proposals,” said MORPC Associate Planner Shelby Oldroyd. “It is important that we understand our community’s needs to help MORPC prioritize and advocate for these projects effectively.”
One-page fact sheets on the projects are available at morpc.org/funding.
The public is encouraged to provide comments or any additional information to help set MORPC’s priorities, including advantages and/or disadvantages of projects. All comments must be submitted by e-mail to trac@morpc.org or in writing to Shelby Oldroyd, Re: TRAC Public Input, 111 Liberty Street, Suite 100, Columbus, OH 43215. The deadline to submit feedback is 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 16.
