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Last week, Washington County residents got some good news from the office of U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and the Ohio Department of Transportation that $8.7 million is headed our way from Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects funding.
"Logistics Lane" will include construction of a grade separated crossing of Ohio 7 for traffic on Washington County Road 10, reducing the number of access points along the state route, and allow other access points to be converted to right-turn-only access. It will also expand the Central Ohio River Business Association's Central Ohio River Information System.
"Today, we are taking important steps to improve road safety for Ohioans traveling on State Route 7 while ensuring barges on the Ohio River and trucks serving businesses in the corridor are able to keep commerce moving without disruption," Brown said. "The Ohio River serves as a major logistics hub for communities across Ohio, and this investment will help attract new investment to the region."
Of course, such good news did not come without the considerable effort of local officials such as those at ODOT District 10 and Washington County Engineer Roger Wright.
"The corridor between the City of Belpre and the City of Marietta, connected by State Route 7, is vital to the economic well-being of our entire county, acting as a conduit for existing business throughout our county and the surrounding region," Wright said. "Further, this corridor has the potential for future business development, with the project having the potential to link the Ohio River transportation system, the railroad transportation system and the commercial trucking transportation system."
Washington County Commissioner James Booth is right to hope federal money will also come to support projects such as vital sewer infrastructure, but as we await such support, it is encouraging to see the work of ODOT and Washington County officials has at least helped procure some of the funding for "Logistics Lanes." Well done, folks! (But don't let off the gas.)