Less gas tax revenue, increasing construction costs and a lack of a national transportation bill has forced state highway officials to prioritize projects that will bring jobs to the region.

A Butler County road project is one of several in the state that Ohio Department of Transportation officials have targeted because of the potential jobs expected to be created in industries along it.

Work along the narrow and badly buckled Yankee Road, which is traveled daily by trucks accessing several thriving industries including AK Steel’s Middletownn Works, Pilot Chemical and SunCoke, has been expedited because of the economic development potential.

Companies along this roadway are completing or have plans for expansions valued at more than $150 million and the numbers of jobs are expected to increase from 400 to 650 in several years, according to ODOT officials.

ODOT is shifting gears to better leverage its significant transportation investments to accelerate Ohio’s economy and help put more people to work, according to Steve Mary, District 8 deputy director. That includes the formation of the Office of Jobs & Commerce and Office of Innovative Delivery to identify new revenue sources to close the $1.6 billion transportation budget shortfall,

“We are bringing in an economic development in to it (project planning),” Mary said.

The ODOT jobs and commerce office and partner JobsOhio worked with Middletown officials to accelerate the road improvements to support the Yankee Road Industrial District that is adjacent to AK Steel’s Middletown Works and home to a cluster of more than 10 global and national industries.

Middletown, Pilot Chemical and ODOT District 8 officials gathered Tuesday along the busy roadway to announce the construction project and several others in the region.

The Yankee Road project was originally ranked 49 of more than 200 Ohio projects identified on OKI’s draft 2040 plan. But when Pilot Chemical announced plans to expand and bring more jobs either to its Middletown operation or a plant in Texas, state officials stepped in to make project more urgent.

Metal-Matic, a Minnesota-based steel tubing manufacturer, also has announced plans to move into one of the former MISA Metals buildings in Middletown on MADE Drive.

Phase One of the widening project, which is from Oxford State Road to MADE Drive, is underway and set for an early 2013 completion. It will be followed by a second phase with widening from MADE Drive south to Todhunter Road. Yankee will be widened from two to three lanes and include water, sewer and drainage upgrades.

Total project cost for both phases is $4.4 million, with half from local sources and half from state sources.

ODOT has always been focused on road safety, air quality and access but it is also now focused on impactive projects that can positively effect the economy, said Melissa Taylor, Southwest Ohio regional manager of the ODOT’s Office of Jobs & Commerce.

“Funding can no longer come from one source,” Taylor said. “We are looking to other agencies and private partners to secure the needed funding to not only improve roads, but bring jobs to the state.”

With the Yankee Road project underway, Mike Bizzarro, Pilot Chemical director of manufacturing, said “most of the hurdles have been overcome” for a Middletown expansion. But he said a decision will not be made by the company’s board until later this month.

Either way, Bizzarro said the improvements will benefit the trucks that travel the narrow road daily and much of the traffic along the main thoroughfare between Middletown and Monroe.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2168 or lauren.pack@coxinc.com.