The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) has approved $8.9 million for street paving projects in 15 communities across Ohio and Kentucky, continuing a regional funding program now entering its second year.
The initiative will invest $6.8 million in nine Ohio communities and $2.1 million in six Northern Kentucky communities.
List of funded communities, their projects and locations can be found here.
This year’s funding will support the repaving of nearly 38 lane miles of roadway across the OKI region. Combined with last year’s pilot program — which awarded $13.2 million to 22 communities and enabled the paving of 62 lane miles — the initiative will result in a total investment of $22.1 million and 100 lane miles of roadway either completed or slated for resurfacing.
“This is the second year of the program,” said OKI Deputy Executive Director Bob Koehler. “Our pilot program was immensely successful, and we had funds available to continue for it another year. We’re excited to see how it is improving regional roads and streets and guiding future investments. We have initiated a streamlined process that gets dollars to communities faster which means benefits flow more quickly to drivers.”
OKI CEO Mark Policinski said the program underscores the agency’s commitment to delivering projects that communities need and quickly want. “There is no greater priority than safety on our roads, and this OKI program gets those projects done much faster. In short, we get safer, faster.”
Policinski added, “By investing in local infrastructure, we’re helping ensure that families, businesses and first responders can move efficiently and safely throughout our region.”
Across the country, transportation agencies are streamlining project delivery to speed up infrastructure improvements. Federal and state partners are embracing innovative approaches — like OKI’s street paving program — to get results on the ground faster.
Following board approval, “the program and its timelines were created to move quickly through the pipeline, which is our goal,” Koehler said.
Because these are federal funds, OKI is working closely with the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which will approve final plans for each project.
Approved projects will be added to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Programs (STIP) for Ohio and Kentucky in January. Construction funding begins July 1, 2027, with all paving projects slated for completion by July 1, 2028.
Member communities drive every federal dollar invested by OKI. All projects proposed and funded by OKI are submitted by local villages, cities, townships, counties or transit agencies. OKI’s entire investment strategy is decided at the community level up — and not from the federal level down.
OKI is a council of local governments, business organizations and community groups committed to developing collaborative strategies, plans and programs to improve the quality of life and economic development potential of the tristate.
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments