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Controlling Board approves ODOT plan to use federal grant, outsource airport pavement inspections
Summary
The Controlling Board approved the Ohio Department of Transportation's plan to use federal grant funding to contract pavement inspections at publicly owned airports after officials said ODOT has only two qualified employees to conduct the work.
The Ohio Controlling Board on Jan. 13 approved an Ohio Department of Transportation request to use federal grant funding to pay for pavement-condition inspections at publicly owned airports.
Andrea Bush, legislative liaison for the Ohio Department of Transportation, told the board the inspections are not required by the Federal Aviation Administration but provide condition data used to prioritize projects for both ODOT and federal partners. "Historically, we've tried to conduct these inspections at every airport every three years," Bush said, adding that schedule equates to roughly 33 inspections per year.
Bush said ODOT currently has only two employees qualified to perform the inspections, which has made it difficult to meet the three-year cycle. Federal funding will cover 90% of the program cost; ODOT's share is 10%. Bush told the board federal funding "cannot cover our staffing costs for this," and said ODOT would follow up with a cost estimate for hiring additional qualified staff.
Representative Sweeney pressed the department on whether it would be less expensive over the long term to hire additional employees instead of contracting the work; Bush said she would provide further information on staffing costs. President Schueller called for objections; none were raised and the item was approved without recorded objection.
ODOT said the contracted inspections will help maintain the department's inspection cycle and support project prioritization at the state's publicly owned airports.
