COLUMBUS - The Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC), which oversees funding of major new transportation projects, approved the Major New Construction Program draft list from January, as part of the Gov. Bob Taft's Jobs and Progress Plan announced in August 2003.

 "Today we re-emphasize our commitment to ensure Ohio's highway network remains one of the very best in the nation," said Ohio Department of Transportation Director Gordon Proctor. "This funding will help construct a number of projects that will improve our transportation system and enhance the lives of countless Ohioans."

The Ohio Department of Transportation typically works on a six-year construction and planning cycle, adding a year of new projects annually. This round of TRAC project funding commitments covers the 2006-2011 time frame.

The Tri-State Metro Outer Belt, or what is commonly known as the Chesapeake Bypass is not on the list of 63 projects that are all Tier I.

As originally planned, the four-phased project would construct a four-lane highway spanning nine miles from State Route 7 where the four-lane currently dead ends to the other side of Proctorville.

The bypass is Tier II project that is being redesigned because cost overruns and major road slips during construction, said Ralph Kline, co-chairman of the Greater Lawrence County Area Chamber of Commerce’s Transportation Committee.

The project can hopefully receive construction funds next year, Kline said.