Fewer delays and accidents cut transportation costs for businesses, and business locations remain more accessible and attractive to customers when there is less congestion. Access Management can even help expand the market area of a business. If the average speed on an area's highways is 21 mph, a business is within a 20 minute drive for customers living in a 7 mile radius. However, if Access Management improves the average speed on the highway system to 30 mph, the same 20 minute drive puts the business within reach of customers living in a 10 mile radius, an area fully twice as large. Access Management can help businesses reach a larger market area.
Taxpayers also benefit.
Access managed highways are more efficient. Getting more out of the roads we have means fewer tax dollars spent trying to keep up with traffic demands. Ohio's highways are essential to the state's economic and social well-being. An effective Access Management program is essential to protecting those highways and ensuring they continue to meet the state's transportation needs. In 1996, ODOT Executive Leadership identified Access Management as a strategic, departmental initiative.