Local
citizen organizations and individuals throughout Ohio nominated the road
proposals featured in this report. Each
road proposal is environmentally destructive, costly, unnecessary, and highly
controversial.
Each
nomination was evaluated based on the significance of the following criteria:
Road proposals are ranked higher based on their cost per
mile.
Road proposals are ranked higher when the construction of
them runs through, or in proximity to, wild and/or scenic rivers, the Wayne
National Forest, the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, state parks, nature
preserves, and metroparks.
According to an American Farmland Trust study, new highway
building is the number one cause of sprawl. Greater consideration was given to those proposals that will encourage
haphazard, low-density development in suburbs and areas distant from downtowns.
Other
criteria considered in selecting the worst new high-capacity project proposals
include:
- Significant
contributions to farmland loss,
- Rerouting traffic
away from thriving local downtown businesses,
- Considerable
impacts to historically designated areas and the destruction of historic
preservation efforts, and
- Great increases in
problems related to regional air quality.
Interstate 75 - Austin Road Interchange
Dayton,
Ohio
Total
Cost:
$81.7
million
Cost
Per Mile:
$54.47
million
Overview
Interstate
75 is a 1,775 mile highway that extends from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to the
U.S. - Canadian border in Michigan. A
new interchange along I-75 has been proposed in southern Montgomery County near
Austin Road. The Montgomery County Board
of Commissioners and the Montgomery County Community & Economic Development
are sponsors of this proposed interchange. This interchange proposal duplicates an interchange three miles north
and south of the proposed area, namely, I-675 and State Route 73 respectively.
Impact On The Environment
This interchange proposal is located in the fastest
growing area of Dayton. It is an affluent exurban location, surrounded by
expensive executive homes, three new golf courses, and industrial parks
granting “Enterprise Zone” tax abatements to companies leaving Dayton—one of
Ohio's most economically depressed central cities. The only lower-middle class housing close to the proposed
interchange is a large mobile home community. However, unknown to the
residents, the same mobile home community will be totally or substantially
replaced by the interchange, according to all of the preliminary designs
available to the public.
Furthermore, the interchange is being justified because
it will be the eastern terminus of a newly devised “connector” road. The area through which this “Mound Connector”
would pass is currently rural land. The
land is zoned for agricultural purposes and is designated for “protection of
prime agricultural land” in the most recent land use plan for the township.
Inducement of Sprawl
A 1998 studyshowed that an Austin Road
Interchange, even without a road west from it, will eventually attract
4,000-5,000 jobs, therefore adding traffic to the area rather than relieving
it. There is so much unplanned development occurring in the area, that the
study predicted I-75 will need to be ten or twelve lanes wide by 2025.Therefore, if the interchange is built, it
will soon be obsolete and will require additional costly and environmentally
damaging construction in order to meet future capacity needs on I-75.
It is important to note that all of Montgomery County is
losing population. According to
recently released Census data, Montgomery County had a 2.4% decrease in
population from 1990 to 2000.[2]The city of Dayton went from 182,044 people
in 1990 to 166,179 people in 2000, an 8.7% decrease in population over ten
years.[3]The commercial vacancy in Dayton and the
inner suburbs is very high. Also,
per-capita income and population in the city of Dayton is declining steadily.
Between the years 1992 and 1997 Dayton had a
-1.4% in job change whereas Dayton’s suburbs had a 15.3% job change.[4]Dayton has the highest poverty rate of
Ohio’s large, older cities. These
indicators, greatly worsened by sprawl, are evidence of the decline of Dayton’s
neighborhoods, even though a very active historic preservation network is
trying to reverse this trend in downtown and adjacent districts.
Even though Montgomery County is losing population, the
county is being developed at a considerably high rate. The development that will ensue from the construction
of the interchange will most likely draw businesses away from already-developed
areas of greater Dayton.
Economists are warning the Dayton area about its severe
glut of empty retail space. Meanwhile, big box stores are currently being
developed in Miami Township. Wal*Mart
is considering plans to abandon their store in order to build one twice as big
near the proposed interchange. Furrow,
a large home-improvement store directly across from the current Wal*Mart, is
being abandoned, just as Home Depot opens a new greenfield mega-store to the
north. A new sixteen-screen mega-cinema
recently opened next to the Home Depot. Not long ago, the nearby eight-screen cinema closed its last screen,
and, nearby, another multi-screen cinema is struggling. State and local taxpayers spent millions of
dollars on the recent widening of Ohio Route 741 on the eastern edge of the
proposed interchange, yet sprawl development is quickly nullifying the
benefits, causing traffic congestion to be a serious problem. This is a wasteful and inefficient use of
land. The proposed interchange would
open up thousands of acres of land and only perpetuate these disastrous methods
of development.
The proposed interchange will induce sprawl and will
significantly impact the rural landscape. The area will most likely experience the loss of farmland, worsened
problems of regional air quality, and the undermining of existing local
businesses.
The “Mound Connector” that would extend west from the
proposed interchange is intended to take commercial and industrial traffic to
an area directly across from the park containing the “Miamisburg Mound,” Ohio's
largest historic Indian mound. The
county is currently conducting a Major Investment Study, including an
Environmental Impact Statement, of the corridor— land that is entirely rural
now— to quantify the impacts the proposal will have on farmland, two rivers,
and two adjacent metro parks.
In spite of the advanced planning, and current
expenditure of tax money, there has been almost no public disclosure and
absolutely no meaningful effort to gather public input.
Contact
Information
Mike
Monett, Tecumseh Group, Sierra Club - Ohio Chapter and Alliance for Responsible Growth,
Dayton-Lebanon-Cincinnati, 442 Carlisle Ave., Dayton, OH 45410, (937)
254-2714, mikemonett@gate2.interaxs.net.
U.S.
Route 24
Northwest
Ohio
Total
Cost:
$390.3
million
Cost
Per Mile:
$5.09 million
Overview
U.S. Route 24 is predominantly
a two-lane highway and a major east-west transportation corridor between
Colorado and Michigan. In the Midwest, U.S. 24 provides the most direct route
between Fort Wayne, Indiana and Toledo, Ohio. Primarily rural in nature, US 24 travels through rich and productive
farmlands in both Indiana and Ohio.
The Ohio Department of
Transportation (ODOT), in cooperation with the Indiana
Department of Transportation and the
Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA), are considering an
eighty-mile, four-lane, new-terrain interstate grade highway between Toledo,
Ohio and Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Rather
than planning the route as a single entity, ODOT has segmented the eighty-mile
highway project into three parts, making the collective environmental impacts
seem not as great. These proposals
duplicate the existing infrastructure of U.S. 24 by constructing a new highway
parallel and in proximity to it.
Impact
On The Environment
The proposal will cross more
than two-dozen streams and more than 200 acres of wetlands. One alternative being considered would place
the highway adjacent to the Maumee River alongside three county metroparks for
more than twenty-two miles. Another
alternative would place the highway between sections of the Maumee State Forest
in Henry County. The highway also could
be relocated within 1.5 miles of the Oak Opening Metropark in Lucas County. A relocated U.S. 24 in Lucas County
would be placed in what has been historically referred to as the Greater Oak
Openings Preserve area, an area which features rare and unique flora and fauna
including oak savannas.
In the Napoleon, Ohio, to
Maumee, Ohio section as many as eighteen high- and medium-value habitat streams
will be directly affected as will as many as seventeen limited resource-value
streams. Up to twelve protected species habitat areas are in the path of
potential relocation corridors.[5]
From New Haven, Indiana to
Defiance, Ohio, more than fifty streams will be affected, and the number of
category B receptors approaching or exceeding FHWA Noise Abatement Criteria is
nearly 100. This degrades the environment and quality of life in areas that
previously had no significant noise pollution issues.[6]
It is estimated that 5,000 to
7,000 acres of farmland will be lost if U.S. 24 is relocated. The proposed highway will cut across
property lines and segment large open areas into small parcels, making farmland
unproductive. From New Haven to Maumee more than 500 farms will be directly
impacted.[7]According to the American Farmland Trust,
Henry County has “relatively large amounts of high quality farmland” in that
the area is considered to have prime or unique farmland.[8]
The relocation of U.S. 24 will
divide numerous townships, school districts, as well as fire and safety zones.
The relocated highway will
transfer traffic away from local businesses, forcing them to leave existing
downtown village locations to compete with the commercial development that will
replace existing greenspace and farmland. The highway’s relocation would impact more than twenty-four potential
National Historic Register properties. Its relocation would also pass across historic Indian Reservation lines.
The Napoleon-Defiance segment
of U.S. Route 24 is being given a categorical exclusion since ODOT already owns
the necessary right-of-way. However,
this does not refute the fact that constructing a new alignment along the
acquired right-of-way will have a great impact on the environment.
Inducement
of Sprawl
Divided parcels of farmland
that are too small to be productive could be developed as commercial and
residential lands, thus increasing the rate of sprawl. The construction of a relocated U.S. 24 is
directly in conflict with the Lucas County Farmland Preservation Study. Proposed locations for a new U.S. 24 will
run through areas of Providence Township and Waterville Township which are
designated as “Low Development Zones” under the Lucas County Farmland
Preservation Study.[9]
Recently released Census 2000
figures from the U.S. Bureau of the Census indicate that the Toledo metro area
is not growing significantly in population. Indeed, the City of Toledo continues to lose
population. Suburban and rural populations are
increasing, but this growth is mostly the result of people and businesses
relocating from city locations to the suburbs and rural areas. Past history indicates that he construction
of a new highway through land which was previously farmland and greenspace will
only increase the rate of population shift from cities to suburban and rural
areas. This not only impacts land use,
such as destroying farmland and open space, but also places stress on undeveloped
areas with regard to increased infrastructure demands while existing
infrastructure is abandoned in the cities.
An example is the impact a
relocated U.S. 24 will have on the area near Oak Openings Metropark in Lucas
County, Ohio. It is expected that a new US 24 will place additional stress on
State Route 295, which is adjacent to the Metropark. State Route 295 will
become a major link from a relocated U.S. 24 to the Toledo Express Airport.
State Route 295, a two-lane
rural highway, will undoubtedly need to be widened or relocated to accommodate
increased traffic resulting from a relocated US 24.This will impact numerous residences, businesses, farms and the
adjacent Oak Openings Metropark and Greater Oak Openings Region.
Contact
Information
Steve Kendall, Family/Farming
Americans Resisting More Unneeded Pavement (FARMUP), (419) 832-3224, www.farmup.org.
Tony Szilagye, Sierra Club -
Western Lake Erie Group, aszilagye@accesstoledo.com,
(419) 661-0397.
U.S. Route 30
Northern
Ohio
Total Cost:
$478.9
million
Cost
Per Mile
Crawford and Richland Counties: $7.96 million
Wyandot and Crawford Counties: $7.56 million
Hancock and Wyandot Counties: $2.22 million
Overview
U.S. Route 30 begins in Atlantic City, New Jersey and
ends at the Pacific Ocean in Oregon. In
Ohio, the highway runs through the northern width of the state. ODOT has proposed to construct a four-lane,
limited access facility on a new alignment. This proposal duplicates existing infrastructure by constructing a new
highway parallel and in proximity to U.S. 30.
Impact
On The Environment
The Environmental Assessment (EA) written for the highway
proposal in Crawford and Richland Counties will have several impacts on water,
land, flora, and fauna. Approximately
4.42 acres of preliminary and forested wetlands as well as 0.83 acre of open
water will be destroyed.[10]About 4,377 feet of preliminary streams will
be impacted, such as a tributary of the Olentangy River, Paramour Creek, and
the headwaters of Allen Run.[11]
It is estimated that seven archaeological sites and five historic architectural
sites are present in the proposed corridor.[12]Approximately 153 parcels of land will be
destroyed or impacted.[13]Such land includes 613.6 acres of prime or
unique farmland, 57.3 acres of woodlots, 196 acres of landlocked area, and
fifteen residential relocations.[14]The range of the Indiana bat, a federally
endangered species, extends into Crawford and Richland Counties; therefore,
potential roosting and breeding habitat for this bat species could be
destroyed.[15]
The new highway alignment in Wayne County will also have
numerous effects on the environment. According to the proposal’s EA, the new highway will have negative
impacts on the following: 0.74 acre of
wetlands, seven streams, and one archaeological site with 106/4(f)
involvements.[16]Approximately twenty-five relocations will
be instituted, including residential and personal property, as well as farms
and businesses.[17]The proposed highway will cause thirty-one
parcels to be landlocked, totaling 218 acres.[18]The EA estimated that thirty-two farms will
be impacted, totaling 291 acres.[19]The Eastern Ohio Till Plain is located in
Wayne County along the proposed route.[20]This till plain was ranked as one of the top
twenty most threatened Major Land Resource Areas (MLRA) in the nation.[21]Also, forty-five acres of woodland
consisting of mature deciduous tree habitat would be destroyed.[22]These woodlands are considered to be an
important habitat type.[23]The Butternut Tree species is known to exist
within the proposed corridor, a species that the state is considering
classifying as threatened.[24]The project area is also within the range of
the federally endangered Indiana bat as well as the eastern massasauga, a
federal candidate species.[25]The massasauga is a species of rattlesnake
that inhabits wet areas during the spring and fall seasons.[26]The proposed project is also within eight
miles of the Killbuck State Wildlife Area.[27]The construction of a highway could
negatively influence wildlife inhabiting this area through secondary impacts.
The EA conducted for the highway proposal in Wyandot and
Crawford Counties estimates that 538 acres of prime or unique farmland would be
destroyed.[28]Approximately eleven farms would be bisected
and fifteen parcels, or 473 acres, would be landlocked.[29]The EA also states that ten residences,
eighteen outbuildings, and three businesses would necessitate relocation.[30]It also estimates that the proposed highway
would destroy 0.8 acre of wetland, 450 linear feet of floodplain, and require
three stream crossings.[31]The EA identifies fourteen archeological
sites, two sites of which meet National Register of Historic Places eligibility
criteria.[32]
The EA for the proposed highway in Hancock and Wyandot
Counties states that 148 parcels of land would be destroyed.[33]The proposed highway would impact thirty
woodlots, totaling fifty-five acres, and demolish nineteen residences.[34]According to the EA, 1,100 acres of farmland
area would be destroyed.[35]The proposed highway also would necessitate
thirty-eight stream crossings, including the Blanchard River.[36]The Blanchard River provides important
habitat for an array of species, including federal and state endangered mollusk
species.[37] The EA also states that 1.48 acres of
wetland area would be destroyed along with one historic architectural site and
one archaeological site, both of which
are eligible for placement on the National Register for Historic Places.[38]
Inducement
of Sprawl
Each proposal will induce sprawl to some degree. Specifically in Crawford and Richland
Counties the construction of new interchanges in the proposal will cause the
development of highway-oriented businesses such as hotels, gas stations, and
fast food restaurants.[39]Industrial and commercial industries are
most often attracted to such an accessible area. New housing developments would soon
follow. The highway would enable sprawl and would
consequently destroy the rural character of the landscape. The development zones near the three
proposed interchanges are known to have wetlands, woodlots, ponds, and
potential archaeological and historic architecture sites.[40]The businesses and industries within
Crestline will be negatively impacted since most of the traffic will bypass the
area.[41]
For the highway proposal in Wayne County, the Ohio
Department of Agriculture has expressed deep concern about the secondary
impacts associated with the proposed highway construction.[42]Farmland, particularly Amish farmland, will
be destroyed or slowly degraded by secondary impacts due to sprawl at
intersections and deemed unproductive. The Ohio Department of Agriculture has suggested improving the existing
U.S. Route 30 or advising ODOT to prefer an alternative that commits the least
amount of direct and indirect impact to productive farmland. Unfortunately, ODOT has gone against their
recommendations and prefers the alternative that constructs a highway on a new
alignment that destroys the most farmland.[43]
Contact
Information
Shannon Harps, Sierra Club - Ohio Chapter, 36 West Gay
Street, Suite 314, Columbus, Ohio 43215, (614) 461-0734, Shannon.Harps@prodigy.net,
www.ohio.sierraclub.org.
U.S. Route 32 - Little Miami Scenic River Bridge Crossing
Southwest Ohio
Total Cost: $77 million
Cost Per Mile: $7.7 million
Overview
Part of the Eastern
Corridor Major Investment Study, this proposed highway would mean a new four to
six lane highway bridge across the Little Miami River Scenic River near Fairfax.
The highway would go from
Fairfax to Newtown, in effect providing a highway link between I-71 at Red Bank
and I-275, near the Eastgate Mall.
Impact On The Environment
Cincinnati's Little
Miami Scenic River is an extraordinary natural treasure in the midst of a major
metropolitan area, and decades of citizen efforts have gone into protecting it.
It became a State Scenic River in 1968 and a National Wild and Scenic River in
1980 because of its “outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic,
fish and wildlife, historic, cultural and other values.” The Little Miami is one of three National
Scenic Rivers in Ohio.
The controversial $77
million, 10-mile highway project would increase traffic congestion and sprawling
development, worsen water, air, and noise pollution, and forever diminish the
experience of Cincinnati families who enjoy the Little Miami Scenic River.
Canoeing, biking, and
hiking along the Little Miami Scenic River offer a wonderful getaway from the
noise and intrusions of the urban landscape. The river corridor is accessible
along much of the river through the bikeway and numerous canoe liveries. This
massive sprawl-inducing bridge will dominate the landscape and the roar of
trucks will disturb birdwatchers and solitude seekers alike.
The relocated U.S.
Route 32 will follow the river, go through the extensive floodplain and
interfere with the natural flood protection that the floodplain currently
provides. The area surrounding the
proposed bridge crossing is also a rich archeological site. Native American
burial sites from both the Hopewell and Adena people have been found and remain
at the site.
Inducement of Sprawl
This bridge and
relocated U.S. 32 increases sprawl by creating a high-speed route into rural,
but developing Clermont County and Brown and Adams Counties. As the outerbelt expressways promoted
sprawl, new highways radiating from the core to farmland, do the same. Rather than first conducting land use
planning, this study proposes to plan land use after deciding to build and
expand roads.
The floodplain area is
currently farmed. Its future use is uncertain. The County Engineer has proposed using Clean Ohio Fund monies to
mitigate the environmental damage from the bridge, by purchasing the farmland.
The floodplain is only usable
as a natural floodplain area and/or farming. “Mitigation” will not compensate for the damage to this natural
treasure.
Worsening of Traffic
Highway supporters
disregard the damage to the River, and assert the highway would reduce traffic
and thus improve air quality. However, a report by an independent traffic
expert says that these supposed highway benefits are incorrect, and the likely
impact of the new highway would be an increase in traffic region wide.
Using Ohio, Kentucky,
and Indiana (OKI) Regional Council of Governments’ own traffic numbers and
traffic model, the study's author, Norman Marshall, Senior Project Consultant
of Resource Systems Group in Vermont, concludes: “The ratio of costs to benefits would be very high for the new
bridge at Red Bank Road and the associated highway.”
The good news is that
the Eastern Corridor study already calls for sound alternatives to a new
highway over the Little Miami Scenic River, including commuter trains on existing
lines, expanded bus transit, and sensible land use planning. We strongly
support these genuine smart growth alternatives, which will lessen congestion,
cost less in the long run, and will protect the Little Miami.
The public can stop
this misguided highway by asking Governor Taft to direct ODOT to reject OKI's
request of $4.4 million to study the new highway, and instead invest our tax
dollars to build more transportation choices such as the commuter trains and
expanded clean bus service championed in OKI’s study.
Contact Information
Glen Brand, Sierra Club, 309 Ludlow Ave.
Suite 30, Cincinnati, OH45220, (513)
861-4001, glen.brand@sierraclub.org.
U.S. Route 33
Southeast
Ohio
Total
Cost:
$488.4 million
Cost
Per Mile:
Athens
and Meigs Counties:
$9.1 million
Hocking and Athens Counties: $7.33 million
Overview
U.S. Route 33 extends from Richmond, Virginia to Benton
Harbor, Michigan. Within Ohio, U.S. 33
runs diagonally from Southeast Ohio, through Columbus, to Northwest Ohio. ODOT has proposed several projects
throughout the U.S. 33 corridor, including a four-lane, limited access divided
highway to bypass the City of Lancaster, the Nelsonville Bypass, and an
eleven-mile new Super 2 highway, on a new location from Athens to Darwin. Each one of these proposals duplicate the
existing infrastructure by the construction of new bypasses of the present U.S.
33.
Impact
on Environment
The proposed Lancaster Bypass would impact fifty-one
single-family homes, two farmsteads, one modern log cabin and one
privately-owned campground.[44]The new highway would destroy 414 acres of
farmland. [45]
Additionally, 115 acres of farmland will be landlocked and eighteen farmland
parcels will have altered access.[46]The construction of a bypass would also
destroy 8.91 acres of wetlands and 165 acres of woodland habitat.[47]Furthermore, the proposed area encompasses
potential roosting habitat for the Indiana bat, a federally endangered species.[48]The bypass will encroach twelve perennial
streams and fifteen intermittent streams, including the Hocking River Tributary
and the Ohio Canal Tributary.[49]The bypass also would impact eight
archeological sites, all of which are eligible for the National Register of
Historic Places.[50]
The proposed Nelsonville Bypass would destroy up to 1.8
hectares of productive farmland.[51]Approximately thirty-eight residences and up
to four businesses will be displaced.[52]There would be two crossings of the Hocking
River Floodway and nearly nine stream crossings.[53]
The Hocking River is considered to be a valuable fishery resource; therefore,
the construction of a bypass would negatively impact fish habitat.[54]Water quality would be impacted by road
related run-off such as oils, grease, and road salt. About 1.9 hectares of wetlands would be destroyed.[55]Up to sixty-two hectares of wildlife habitat
would be devastated, which includes deciduous and coniferous forests.[56]Two federally endangered species potentially
reside in the proposed area, including the Indiana bat and the American burying
beetle.[57]Other native species commonly found in this
area that would be displaced are the red fox, white-tailed deer, American
kestrel, and wild turkey.[58] Approximately 39.2 hectares of the Wayne
National Forest, the only National Forest in Ohio, would be impacted.[59]
The EA written for the proposed Super 2 highway on a new
location from Athens to Darwin states that the new highway will impact up to
0.3 acre of wetlands, 370 acres of forest blocks, thirty acres of prime
farmland and thirty-one stream crossings.[60]Roosting habitat for the endangered Indiana
bat is located within the proposed corridor. Any trees that may provide sufficient area for roosting could be
destroyed if the proposed highway is constructed. An independent study conducted by Norman Marshall with Resource
Systems Group, Inc. and initiated by the Coalition Against Superfluous Highways
(CASH) documented how the EA is not in compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) “because it does not evaluate an upgrade
alternative that could have significantly fewer environmental impacts while
meeting the purpose and need of the project.”[61]The report goes on to state that the EA does
not comply with the requirements for the Federal Highway Administration noise
evaluation, requirements that determine whether or not the new highway will
significantly increase noise levels.[62]The independent study also reports on the
overestimation of U.S. Route 33’s traffic growth rates as well as the
underestimation of the existing alignment to carry traffic over the next twenty
years.[63]The report questions ODOT’s projection of a
twenty-year compounded growth rate of two percent per year.[64]The report compared the projected population
growth rates with the compounded two percent per year growth rates used by ODOT
and found that, over twenty years, ODOT’s traffic growth would outpace
statewide population growth by 1,200%.[65]The EA for this proposed highway also states
that the existing U.S. Route 33 is an unsafe road with no potential for
improvement.[66]However, the independent study disputed the
misleading statement and showed that, in actuality, the accident rate along the
corridor is comparable to the statewide average.[67]
Inducement
of Sprawl
Every project proposal for the U.S. Route 33 corridor
will induce varying degrees of sprawl. Specifically, the Lancaster Bypass would be in proximity to the
Shallenberger State Nature Preserve. The small amount of land that is between the nature preserve and the
proposed bypass would most likely be developed, especially if an interchange
was built to access U.S. Route 22.Traffic would be diverted from Lancaster to outlying areas and,
undoubtedly, negatively impact local businesses in the downtown area.
The Nelsonville Bypass would divert traffic away from the
City of Nelsonville and consequently negatively effect businesses along the
existing U.S. Route 33.Any proposed
interchange will cause the development of highway-oriented businesses such as
fast food restaurants, gas stations, and small retail stores. Since Nelsonville does not have local zoning
ordinances, development will not be controlled.[68]
Contact
Information
Todd Acheson, Coalition Against Superfluous Highways
(CASH), Acheson@ohiou.edu.
Shannon Harps, Sierra Club - Ohio Chapter, 36 West Gay
Street, Suite 314, Columbus, Ohio 43215, (614) 461-0734, Shannon.Harps@prodigy.net,
www.ohio.sierraclub.org.
