Columbus Dispatch
Ohio Turnpike to stay public
Ohio gets piece of national $42.9 million Pfizer settlement
By Joe Vardon

December 12, 2012 

Gov. John Kasich will not try to lease the Ohio Turnpike to a private entity and instead try to generate cash for state infrastructure projects while keeping the 241-mile toll road as a public asset, according to several lawmakers briefed on the administration’s plans. 

The state could leverage the turnpike by issuing new debt against it or redirecting toll revenue toward projects away from the turnpike. Kasich would need a change in state law to spend turnpike revenue more than 1 mile away from the toll road. 

Legislators who spoke on the condition they not be named said the administration seems to be steering away from a private lease of the turnpike. Kasich has been hinting at a possible lease for much of his two years in office — a move that would likely be the most vexing political hurdle for him to leverage the turnpike. 

“If they come out Thursday and say the turnpike will go to company ABC, then there was a lot of deception to us as well,” said one legislator who did not want to be named discussing Kasich’s intentions before the governor makes his announcement this week. “The turnpike’s going to be a state entity.” 

Kasich’s office has not formally briefed either legislative chamber on its plans for the turnpike, but some “stakeholders” have been notified of what the Republican governor intends to do. Kasich, who is scheduled to unveil his plans in a two-day multicity tour beginning Thursday, said he expected word of his plans to leak early. 

Lawmakers who spoke with The Dispatch said they expect the Department of Transportation to become heavily involved in the daily operation of the turnpike, which has been operated by the independent Ohio Turnpike Commission for all of its 57-year history. 

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