Following Governor John Kasich’s suggestion that the Ohio Turnpike could be sold or leased, Governing Board President Stephen Hambley asked staff to evaluate the proposal and organized an Ohio Turnpike Sale/Lease Proposal Committee to discuss whether the proposal is in the best interests of the region.
On May 13th, 2011 the NOACA Governing Board adopted Resolution 2011-024. The resolution concludes with the following sections:
Section 1: The Governing Board is opposed to the sale or lease of the Ohio Turnpike until such time as evidence for significant long term benefits from such sale/lease is identified.
Section 2: The Governing Board believes that in the event of a sale or lease of the Ohio Turnpike, the proceeds of the lease should be spent on transportation infrastructure projects, particularly those on parallel routes, in northern Ohio.
Section 3: The Governing Board believes that the State of Ohio should work with the MPOs and impacted governments along the Ohio Turnpike’s route to identify the aforementioned transportation projects.
Section 4: The Executive Director is hereby authorized to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to appropriate federal, state and local agencies.
Materials related to the ongoing evaluation of the turnpike privatization proposal include:
NOACA documents:
Initial NOACA staff discussion of Ohio Turnpike privatization based on comparison with leases in Chicago and Indiana: Ohio Turnpike Lease NOACA
Limited additional information related to turnpike leasing collected after the initial memo was completed: Ohio Turnpike Lease - Misc NOACA
Gross financial analysis of future toll revenues under various toll increase scenarios: Toll Revenue NOACA
Other MPO materials:
Other analyses/discussion of leasing efforts:
The NW Financial Group analyzed the economics of both the Chicago Skyway and Indiana Toll Road leases. In both instances, the author suggests that there may have been better purely public options for achieving the same financial benefit.
NW Financial Group, LLC analysis of the Chicago Skyway Lease: Chicago Skyway Analysis
NW Financial Group, LLC analysis of the Indiana Toll Road Lease: Indiana Toll Road
The PEW Center on the States has evaluated various public private partnership efforts. The following links provide access to their efforts and suggested questions for those considering public private partnerships:
Ohio Turnpike Commission Documents:
Annual inspection report which identifies status of repair of the turnpike system and estimated costs for ongoing maintenance based on that status: Ohio Turnpike Commission 2009 Annual Inspection Report
Evaluation (absent appendices) of turnpike mainline pavement in anticipation of replacing original two lane sections: Mainline Pavement Evaluation
Excerpt from Ohio Turnpike Master Trust Agreement emphasizing operation and maintenance requirements: Master Trust Agreement Section 5
Summary statistics for the Ohio Turnpike as of December 31, 2010: Ohio Turnpike Commission Data and Statistics
Ad hoc Ohio Turnpike Committee meeting held on July 8, 2011:
