Divided House advances Daniels' highway plan

INDIANAPOLIS - A divided Indiana House on Wednesday approved Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels' highway plan and the authority it would give him to lease the Indiana Toll Road to a private consortium for $3.85 billion.\nAll 52 House Republicans voted for the plan while 47 Democrats, who have criticized it along several fronts, voted against it. The money from the lease would help pay for numerous transportation projects around the state.\nDaniels' top legislative priority now moves to the GOP-dominated Senate, whose leader, Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton, said its chances of passing that chamber were good. Republicans control the Senate 33-17.\n"Obviously there are more steps to take but this will probably prove to have been the critical one," Daniels said of the House vote. "It's just an enormous step for more jobs and more economic hope in this state."\nDuring four hours of debate, House Republicans hailed the legislation and proposed toll road lease as a risk-free way to help finance hundreds of highway and transportation projects around the state while creating tens of thousands of jobs.\nThey said without the $3.85 billion an Australian-Spanish consortium called Statewide Mobility Partners has bid to lease and operate the road, many projects the state has deemed as priorities would languish without progress for years. In exchange for the up-front payment, the consortium would operate and maintain the northern Indiana highway for 75 years and get its toll revenue.