UT and the city of Toledo pull funding for interchange project

Courtesy of Lucas County

The plans for the new interchange were concocted to make entrance from I-475 to Dorr St. easier.

Toledo’s progress with the Dorr Street Interchange Project might be slower than expected because of the University of Toledo’s and the city of Toledo’s withdrawal in funding.

Originally, UT was interested in the project to help provide better transportation access to Main Campus for students commuting to classes via Dorr Street.

However, after consulting with the senior leadership team and reevaluating the consequences of previous financial obligations, UT President Sharon Gaber decided against funding the interchange after all.

The project was intended to build an interchange that would connect Interstate

475 to Dorr Street between McCord Road and Holland-Sylvania Road. Currently the interstate passes over Dorr St. without an exit to Dorr.

The project aimed to allow vehicles to more easily travel to Springfield and UT from I-475.

Initially, UT, the Ohio Department of Transportation, Lucas County and Springfield Township initially collaborated to fund the $3.3 million dollar project, where UT would pay $1.5 million alone.

The project was initiated in April 2014 by the UT Board of Trustees, when proposals of freeway construction for the city of Toledo were discussed.

Meghan Cunningham, media relations assistant director for the university, and President Gaber both said spending money on the project does not align with UT’s goals.

“Since that time, the scope and financial obligations have evolved, causing UT to reevaluate its commitment and make an informed decision not to proceed,” Cunningham said. “UT decided against spending student tuition and public taxpayer dollars on highway infrastructure.”

In her letter to the Toledo Blade concerning the university’s funding of the interchange project, President Gaber wrote, “It also would violate Gov. John Kasich’s mandate calling on Ohio’s public universities to decrease costs to our students. UT’s core missions are education, research and health care — not state infrastructure.”

Additionally, the city of Toledo has also withdrawn funding from the project because Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson said she would rather fix potholes with that money.

However, despite UT and the city of Toledo dropping out of the project, Springfield and Lucas County will continue working.

According to Lucas County Engineer Keith Earley, a leading member in efforts to complete the project, Lucas County plans to have further discussions concerning funding the project with both UT and the city of Toledo. Further meetings are on the agenda to discuss such topics.

Lack of funding has greatly inhibited the start of the project, but it is unknown if there are other barriers to the project.

One of the main reasons the university initially planned to make this project a funding priority, was to decrease the safety concerns of those students who commute to campus on a daily basis via Dorr Street and its surrounding areas.

One student who felt concerned about this halt in the interchange project was freshman Chloe Wagenhauser.

“On a normal school day, I take either Bancroft or Dorr Street to the university. Both of these routes are rather slow due to morning traffic, lights, and potholes (especially on Bancroft). If the university funded a connector between I-475 and Dorr I would welcome this alternative route. This connector could make my commute quite a bit faster, would benefit me as a Sylvania resident, and would certainly benefit commuter students from all over Toledo,” wrote Wagenhauser in an email interview.

According to Gaber, the project is still important to pursue.

“I do believe a Dorr Street interchange would add significant value,” she wrote in her letter.

However, Gaber wrote that the interchange is not included in the “core missions” of the university and she could not justify spending university money on the project.