Daniels' highway plan calls for I-69 extension

INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mitch Daniels announced a sweeping highway plan Monday that would extend Interstate 69 from Indianapolis to Evansville -- possibly funded in part by tolls -- upgrade parts of U.S. 31 and impose higher fees on the Indiana Toll Road.\nDaniels 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.\nThe 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.\nThe 10-year plan calls for $5.3 billion in new construction, but the Indiana Department of Transportation has only $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.\nThe plan also includes $5.3 billion for maintenance already in the department's budget.\nThere are scores of projects in the plan, such as completing the Hoosier Heartland Corridor from Lafayette to Fort Wayne by 2016 and building two new bridges linking Indiana and Kentucky 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.\nIf funding sources are approved for I-69, such as the leasing and toll options, construction would begin in 2008 and the plan said it could be completed as early as 2018. The extension is projected to cost $1.8 billion.\nDaniels 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.\n"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."\nDaniels 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.\nThe 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.\nThe planned Toll Road fee increases would vary according to entry point and bring in an estimated $700 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.\nDaniels said toll rates have not been raised since 1985 and could no longer pay for maintenance. Of the projected $770 million in new revenue through increased tolls, $344 million 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.\nThe governor said that with tolling or leasing, construction of an extended I-69 could be moved up dramatically.\nMatt 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.\n"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."\nRepublican 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.