Regional planners ask Senate to restore $5 million annually for rural RTPO construction funds

Bradley Bodenmiller, director of the Logan‑Union‑Champaign (LUC) Regional Planning Commission, asked the Ohio Senate Transportation Committee to reinsert $5,000,000 per fiscal year into the biennial transportation budget (House Bill 54) to continue construction funding for Regional Transportation Planning Organizations (RTPOs).

Bodenmiller told the committee the line item — federal SDBG money included in prior transportation budgets — helps rural communities move from planning to small‑scale construction projects such as bridge replacements, resurfacing, guardrail updates, bike‑path improvements and intersection visibility work. "I visit today to encourage the Senate to reinsert $5,000,000 per fiscal year for Ohio's Regional Transportation Planning Organizations," he said.

Why it matters: Bodenmiller said the RTPO construction funds have enabled 35 projects to be completed to date in RTPO areas and that 181 projects remain unfunded, with an estimated total cost on the unfunded list of about $113,000,000. He told the committee LUC previously received $400,000 and then $620,000 in the two earlier rounds of RTPO construction awards.

Program details and timeline concerns: Bodenmiller explained RTPOs must maintain transportation, public participation, Title VI and environmental justice plans and that ODOT provides planning funding but not construction funding. The RTPO construction awards (the $5 million line item) were added to the state transportation budget in past cycles; the House budget for FY26–27 recommended eliminating that $5 million per year. Bodenmiller said many RTPO projects are constrained by federal permitting and review timelines, and the program's two‑year completion window can make delivery challenging.

Committee questions and responses: Vice Chair Schafer asked why the House removed the item; Bodenmiller said he had not yet found a clear explanation and suspected the funds were reallocated elsewhere in the budget. Multiple senators pressed on whether funds were allocated but slow to be spent; Bodenmiller said many projects are already allocated but take multiple years to complete because of environmental reviews, right‑of‑way and rebidding cycles.

No action taken: The committee did not vote on restoring the funding during the hearing. Bodenmiller provided the committee with written materials and a roster of RTPO projects and said he would answer follow‑up questions.

Ending: Bodenmiller urged the committee to restore the $5 million annual line item to keep rural construction projects moving and to preserve the state‑RTPO partnership. "The consequences of that list of projects that are unfunded … is going to continue to grow," he said.