The US state of Ohio is stepping up its efforts to collect traffic data so that it can claim important Federal budget funding to conserve infrastructure. Kistler Lineas sensors achieved exceptionally convincing results in the state's tests on Weigh In Motion systems.
Although Ohio is one of the smaller US states in terms of area, it is a key center of industry and business. From Cleveland on the shore of Lake Erie in the north to Columbus and Cincinnati in the southwest, Ohio has the seventh largest gross domestic product (GDP) of all US states, and is second only to neighboring Michigan in automobile production. Ohio is known as the Buckeye State, after the native tree similar to a horse chestnut that has a characteristic tan-colored eye in the middle of its seed. In US Presidential elections, Ohio is traditionally regarded as a swing state and a bellwether that usually votes with the winning party.
In some ways, Ohio resembles the German Federal State of Baden-Württemberg: the two territories have similar populations (about 11 million), their GDPs are comparable (about EUR 500,000 million), and the enterprise structure of both Ohio and Baden-Württemberg is defined by the automotive industry and its supply sector. However, Ohio has three times the area of Baden-Württemberg: it is located centrally in the United States, within one day's drive for 60% of the North American population. Responsibility for developing and conserving the highway infrastructure is assigned to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT): with a workforce of over 4,500, this state agency controls all aspects of construction, planning, traffic monitoring and transportation safety.