Daniels defends road toll for I-69

Gov. Mitch Daniels stopped in Bloomington Thursday to discuss his new plan to make the future I-69 a toll road from Indianapolis to Evansville. This plan will include what is currently Indiana State Road 37, a major north-south corridor for Bloomington.\nDaniels said the state would look at options like having a free lane for local traffic, but said most of the road probably will be cost all drivers a toll.\nDaniels asked the citizens of Monroe County "to think about their neighbors" when deciding to support his new plan.\n"(I-69) will link the small towns to the national economy so that every part of Indiana has a chance to flourish," Daniels said. \nHe added that not every part of Indiana is as well off as "the Bloomington we are so proud of."\nThe proposed change won't be happening soon. The highway isn't expected to be completed until 2018. This is still earlier than the previous plan without tolls that had I-69 construction not even beginning until 2017.\nBesides adding tolls to I-69, the governor's new plan also calls for a public-private partnership that, he said, will help speed up the construction and make it less expensive.\n"(The public-private partnership) allows you to mix public and private funds and then use them together to the maximum benefit," said Tom Sharp, Indiana Department of Transportation \ncommissioner.\nNot everyone agrees the partnership is a good plan.\n"The state gets a pile of money, and corporations get to control the highway," said Sandra Tokarski, a member of Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads. "I don't think this is smart in the long haul."\nThe governor said the highway is actually controlled by the state and the state legislature must still pass the toll. \n"It is a rather controlled environment," Sharp said.\nThe Indiana legislature must pass a new law that allows the state to create these public-private partnerships. Currently, 18 other states have a similar law.\nSteven Higgs, an IU School of Journalism instructor and editor of the Bloomington Alternative, expressed concern about the state because he believes it is taking people's land, giving it to a private company and making the former owners pay to drive on the land.\nDaniels said the state is "not going to give the land to anyone."\nThe whole point of building I-69 is for the future of Indiana's economy, Daniels said. If all I-69 did was let people get from place to place more quickly, he wouldn't build it.\nIndiana doesn't have the finances to fund half the transportation projects it needs, Daniels said. The best way to fill the gap is with his plan of toll roads and public-private partnerships.\n"Business as usual doesn't get us halfway there," Daniels said.\nWhen it was suggested that the toll was the same as a new tax, Daniels responded, "tell me which half of Indiana's future would you not like to build?"\nTokarski quickly said, "I-69."\nAbout two-thirds of the toll money that comes in from the Indiana Toll road in northern Indiana is from out-of-state traffic, Daniels said. Making I-69 a toll road would bring in money from outside Indiana to fund the state's new roads.\nBloomington was the last stop on Daniels' four-day trip around the state. Most people have been supportive of his new plan, Daniels said.\n"Bloomington may not be reflective of the whole state on this," Daniels said.\nDaniels said most people told him during his stop in Evansville, "since it's a toll road or no road, let's get going"