COLUMBUS, Ohio—Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday signed into law a requirement for the state to build a controversial interchange between the cities of Strongsville and Brunswick. However, the governor said he intends to “bring people together” in the coming weeks to try to negotiate a compromise that resolves the years-long dispute.
Other parts of the two-year, $13.5 billion transportation budget, which takes effect July 1, include billions for road and highway projects, a raft of new rail safety rules, and allowing enhanced driver’s licenses to be used in lieu of a passport, among other measures.
The interchange requirement was inserted into the budget bill by state Rep. Tom Patton, a Strongsville Republican who argues that building it will help ease congestion along existing nearby exits and make roads safer.
However, city of Brunswick officials have denounced the idea, warning that connecting Interchange 71 with one of three roads – Drake Road in Strongsville, Grafton Road in Brunswick, or Boston Road between the two cities – will lower nearby property values, destroy homes in the path of on- and off-ramps, and turn a residential country road into an unwanted commercial corridor.
DeWine, speaking at an Ohio Statehouse bill signing ceremony, said he was “very concerned” that the measure circumvents normal state procedures for approving interchanges. “However, people have been waiting a long time to deal with this problem,” DeWine said. “And there did not appear to be a solution in sight.”
The governor said he expects that the Ohio Department of Transportation will release an overdue study into the potential interchange in the next few weeks. After that, DeWine said, he’ll meet with both sides about finding a way to resolve the conflict.
DeWine said that the two sides have some time to find a solution as, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation, the interchange wouldn’t be completed until 2030 at the earliest. He also noted that federal authorities would have to approve the project and that the opinions of local cities would be a factor in their decision.
“It has a long way to go – it has a lot of hurdles to get over,” DeWine said. “What I’m hoping is that we can bring some focus on this matter and try to get a solution that both sides can live with and can be acceptable to both sides.”
Other parts of the new budget provide $2.2 billion for pavement, $1.5 billion for large projects such as reconfiguring urban interstates, $717 million for bridges, and $360 million for safety upgrades. There’s about $3 billion included to improve the Brent Spence Bridge that connects Cincinnati to Northern Kentucky and help build a second bridge nearby.
The new law contains new railroad safety rules proposed in the wake of last month’s East Palestine derailment, which released a large amount of toxic chemicals into the nearby air and water.
One will require all trains in Ohio to have a crew of at least two people. Another makes railroads install wayside detectors along every 10-15 miles of track. Wayside detectors use cameras and sensors to catch malfunctioning or broken equipment on passing trains before accidents happen.
Bipartisan federal legislation introduced by Ohio’s U.S. senators, Sherrod Brown and JD Vance, also would require two-person crews and wayside detectors to be installed at regular intervals.
Railroad industry representatives have opposed the proposed changes, arguing that rail safety rules should be handled by the federal government, not at the state level. They’ve also said the proposed rules are being rushed through the legislature and would particularly hurt smaller railroads in the state.
Other parts of the new budget:
- Give Amtrak the statutory authority to expand service in Ohio, an idea that is currently being studied.
- Direct the DeWine administration to enter an agreement with the federal government to allow Ohioans to use enhanced driver’s licenses and ID cards to enter Canada, Mexico, or Caribbean countries without needing a passport.
- Raise thresholds for when public projects need to be competitively bid to private-sector companies.
- Reduce the state registration fee for plug-in hybrid vehicles from $200 per year to $150 per year.
- Ban townships and counties from having traffic-camera programs unless they only use handheld cameras.
- Allow Cincinnati city officials to move ahead with their plan to sell the city-owned Cincinnati Southern railroad, the nation’s only municipally owned railroad, for $1.6 billion to Norfolk Southern, which currently leases the 337-mile railroad for $25 million per year.