Broadway work scheduled to start in 2006

From Staff and wire reports

Gov. Mitch Daniels announced a sweeping highway plan Monday that would extend Interstate 69 from Indianapolis to Evansville, possibly funded in part by tolls, and impose higher fees on the Indiana Toll Road.

Daniels also suggested the possibility of leasing the Toll Road and an extended I-69 to a private venture, which would receive the tolls and operate and maintain the highways. Those and some other possibilities in the plan would require legislative approval.

The administration plans to increase fees on the Toll Road, which stretches across northern Indiana from Ohio to Illinois, on its own beginning next spring. The new money would be used to maintain the Toll Road and fund other projects.

The 10-year plan calls for $5.3 billion in new construction, but the Indiana Department of Transportation only has $2.5 billion of that in its budget. Officials listed several funding options that could help cover the other $2.8 billion to complete other projects identified as priorities.

The plan also includes $5.3 billion for maintenance already in the department's budget.

There are scores of projects in the plan. Locally, the plan includes work on Ind. 64 (Broadway) through downtown Princeton, scheduled to begin in 2006 at a cost of $7 million; work on U.S. 41 in Vanderburgh County at the Lloyd Expressway scheduled in 2010 estimated at $25.2 million; work on Ind. 66 at Burkhardt Road just west of I-164 in 2011 estimated at $14.8 million and U.S. 41 work north of the Ind. 66 junction estimated at $$49.9 million.

The plan calls for as completing the Hoosier Heartland Corridor from Lafayette to Fort Wayne by 2016 and building two new bridges linking Indiana and Ohio in the Louisville, Ky. area. The upgrades on U.S. 31, which stretches from South Bend to Indianapolis, would be in South Bend, Kokomo and Hamilton County.

If funding sources are approved for I-69, such as the leasing and toll options, construction would begin in 2008 and the plan says it could be completed as early as 2018. The extension is projected to cost $1.8 billion.

Daniels said the overall plan would unite the state with a top-tier transportation system that would boost commerce. But very little would happen without new funding sources, he said.

"The more creative and aggressive we are, the more we can build and the sooner we can begin reaping the benefits in jobs and dollars that our major moves will trigger," he said at a Statehouse news conference. "And the jobs benefits of all this additional activity during the construction period alone will be enormous."

Daniels said he did not support an increase in state gasoline taxes to help pay for the plan. But some of the new funding recommendations could generate significant amounts of money over the next 10 years, according to the department.

The agency estimates that a long-term lease of the Toll Road, which would require legislative approval, would bring in more than $2 billion over the next decade. Redesigning some projects could generate another $400 million.

The planned Toll Road fee increases would vary according to entry point and bring in an estimated $770 million over 10 years. The toll for cars traveling the entire 157-mile highway will increase from $4.65 to $8. Trucks traveling the same distance would pay $32, up from $14.55.

Daniels said toll rates have not been raised since 1985 and could no longer pay for maintenance. Of the projected new revenue through increased tolls, $344 would go to state highway projects in toll-road counties, and $226 million would be used for Toll Road maintenance. The remainder would be used for local roads and economic development projects in northwestern Indiana.

The governor said that with tolling or leasing, construction of an extended I-69 could be moved up dramatically.

Matt Meadors, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Evansville Chamber of Commerce, said he supports tolling and any leasing partnership Daniels feels are necessary as long as they do not lead to delayed construction.

"We're supportive of any out-of-the-box efforts to get this project built as soon as possible," Meadors said. "This project is critically important to the entire state. We have got to move the project forward to move the state forward."

Republican Rep. Cleo Duncan, chairwoman of the House Roads and Transportation Committee, said it was too early to tell how most lawmakers would react to I-69 tolls or leasing arrangements. But she said if the proposals were sent to her committee, they would receive extensive consideration.

However, House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, wanted more specifics about the funding options and said he opposed higher rates on the Toll Road or leasing it.

"The governor is raising the toll prices and then leasing it to a company that is going to have to make a profit, so you know Hoosier motorists are going to pay even more in the future," Bauer said.

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On the Net:

For details of the plan: http://www.in.gov/dot/projects/

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