Message to ODOT: I'm Not The Only One.

I find it extremely unfortunate that ODOT keeps on missing the point. It's a common problem in most of society. The people that are supposed to be offering the solutions and providing the service ends up doing the exact opposite.

This usually happens when the institution and the people who run it start taking themselves way too seriously. They may hold public hearing but the ears and minds are shut. The needs of the public are shut out by the yammering of "experts" that feel that they can never be wrong. Meanwhile, "The Greater Good" gets stifled. The needs and the reasoning for the project are trashed for the "easy way out".

ODEWO = Ohio Department of Easy Way Out

ODOT plans to spend almost 1 Billion Federal Dollars to incorrectly fix our traffic problems. Their studies are over 6 years old and their plans are uninspiring, unimaginative, outdated and lack the progressive need that our failing state needs.

This article can be read in full at The Dispatch.

Why do I not trust ODOT? Why do I thrash them? Here are some reasons.

1) ODOT has a horrible track record for spending more money and doing projects properly in the more expensive parts of town.

2) The failed Toledo bridge where it fell down half way through the project and killing several workers.

3) A 5 mile stretch of I-71 on the north side of Columbus has been under construction continually for more than 8 years. Not just one project. SEVERAL re-do projects because they just can't seem to get it right the first 5 times.

4) Those decorative bridges along I-70 that pass by the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base that happens to be in the middle of nowhere.

5) I-270 in Ohio because they realize after a couple years after completion that they will need to reconstruct the ramps to I-71, US-23 and SR-315 (24 ramps) because... oops, did they fuck up again? The ramps seem to confuse even the best drivers and cause high speed accidents on a weekly basis. Maybe it's that 10 lane interchange? I must admit that when a beer truck flipped and flooded the highway, the area did smell great.

6) SR-315 is a 14 year overbudget project that was kind of completed a couple years ago. Though a fairly impressive project, the floodwall that's supposed to help a really poor section of town ("the bottoms") actually did not work. The first big rain we had it flooded behind the wall as well. I know I should be blaming the Army Corp of Engineers but ODOT was part of the budgeting process and should have crossed their "T"s and dotted their "I"s. They were in charge of the entire project that shut down a main commuter road for over 14 whole years. Now what?

7) ODOT construction practices. In California, when they are repaving a major highway, they just shut it down for a day or two and get out the five-lane wide machine and get the job done. In Ohio, we do one lane at a time and constrict traffic for MONTHS. Its too cold, its too hot, its too wet. Wahh! Then, when they finish, we get a nice smooth road if you drive between the overlapping layered lanes. Pure crap.


I could go on, but the internet only has so much space.

Question Authority.