On March 31, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a new two-year state transportation budget that includes $500,000 to create a plan to construct a bypass to relieve congestion on U.S. Route 23 north of Columbus and connect northwest Ohio with the state capital.
TMACOG and partners, including the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, worked with legislators from both parties to advocate for a bypass connecting Route 23 to Interstate 71 as an alternative to the challenging plan to improve Route 23 that a state study identified as the longterm plan for the corridor.
A bypass has been a TMACOG legislative priority since 2008 because of the economic benefits of creating an efficient freight and passenger corridor linking northwest Ohio, the only region without direct freeway access to the capital, with central Ohio, one of the fastest growing markets in the country. With this fall’s opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, the region and the state risk failing to take advantage of a tremendous economic opportunity.
TMACOG leaders and state legislators from across the region worked together to analyze the proposed Route 23 plan, highlight its many challenges and advocate for adoption of the much-needed bypass.
Northwest Ohio’s legislators took up the fight to propose a successful amendment to the transportation budget bill, directing the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission to create preliminary engineering options for a bypass by October 1, 2025.
