ODOT Director Jolene Molitoris made a stop in her hometown Friday.
The Warren native and JFK graduate gave a presentation in front of local leaders, elected officials and Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber members about the future of transportation in Ohio.
"The mission of the Ohio Department of Transportation is moving Ohio into a prosperous new world," said Molitoris. "Every dollar of investment is invested to create jobs and economic growth."
Molitoris is an expert on all things transportation, especially rail. She said the state is very close to putting $400 million in federal stimulus funding to use to connect Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati with a high-speed passenger rail line that would branch out from there.
"We begin with 79 miles an hour, and at that speed and with our schedule, we will be the twelfth most used corridor in the first year," said Molitoris.
"Once we get the three C's connected, we're going to connect Cleveland to Pittsburgh, and we're going to run right through Youngstown," said State Rep. Bob Hagan, chair of the Ohio House Transportation Committee.
Molitoris said the majority of state and federal money coming to ODOT is spent on improving roads, bridges and infrastructure. Just this week the transportation review advisory council proposed $103 million in new construction and projects statewide, including right here in the Valley.
"Stimulus dollars create jobs, and we're creating jobs," Hagan said. "It creates opportunities for everybody."
State leaders said the stimulus money is there now, but it might not be a couple years down the road. That's why they're investing more on construction programs in the next two years than any time in Ohio's history.
"That is going to make Ohio the place to be for the future, for people, for business, for industry, for manufacturing, to really be the heartbeat of the country," said Molitoris.
Molitoris said ODOT does have tolling authority to try and raise new revenue, but it's only to be used when there's new capacity and not on existing highways. Hagan took it one step further, saying the state won't see tolls on any of Ohio's free highways in the future.
