Tornado cleanup is costly for ODOT

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COLUMBUS – When Mother Nature is at her worst, the Ohio Department of Transportation is at its best.

To date, ODOT employees have spent 20,185 hours assisting with clean up from the Memorial Day tornadoes, including one that hit Celina. Clean-up costs from this unexpected weather event have cost the agency $516,274.

Without the additional revenue from the two-year transportation budget that goes into effect on July 1, ODOT would’ve been forced to push back important transportation projects to help offset these emergency costs.

“We must balance our budget and that means if costs go up in one area, they must be reduced in another,” ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks sai “Thanks to the increased funding from the transportation budget, we will have the ability to better absorb the hit that this and other emergency situations put on our overall budget, and future projects will remain on schedule.”

Reopening roadways closed by flooding or debris from storms is vital to helping residents recover from weather disasters.

Since 2015, severe weather emergencies have cost ODOT nearly $53 million.