December 22, 1998
Fostoria bypass back on TRAC
By Malinda Ruble
Staff Writer
FOSTORIA -- The proposed US 23 bypass may have been taken off the shelf by the state's Transportation Review Advisory Council.
Mayor Jim Bailey received a letter from TRAC authorizing a feasibility study on the project.
For decades, Fostoria residents have been urging officials to construct a bypass to eliminate truck traffic through the city. Heavy truck traffic has caused the city's streets to decay and has resulted in traffic delays.
The last few years, citizens have lobbied heavily for support of a bypass. But when the project seemed to be making progress, the Ohio Department of Transportation restricted funding for new projects due to a lack of funds.
After the proposal was on hold for a couple of years, TRAC authorized ''further project analysis be done by the Ohio Department of Transportation,'' according to Jerry Wray, director of TRAC.
A feasibility study to analyze the transportation problems and identify alternative solutions has been ordered. ODOT's district office in Bowling Green is to oversee the study.
''The information gathered from the study will help the TRAC to more accurately evaluate your project in the future,'' Wray stated.
Bailey is pleased something is taking place.
''My feeling is anything is better than nothing. We haven't moved at all for two years, except to scare people with ODOT picking two far-out routes,'' he said.
Once the routes were selected, opposition to the project was voiced by local citizens.
''Hopefully, something will come out of it. We are certainly going to continue to lobby as hard as we can with elected officals and ODOT bureacracy to address what we think is a very serious transportation issue in Fostoria,'' Bailey said.