Daniels' new tollway proposal leaves community leaders with questions

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. -- Some local officials have plenty of questions about Gov. Mitch Daniels' proposal for a 75-mile tollway bypass of Indianapolis.\nThe plan the governor announced Nov. 9 calls for a tollway to run from Interstate 69 northeast of Indianapolis and loop east and south of the city to link up with I-70. Many people living in the five counties through which the highway would run are waiting for details about its route.\nDave Mohr, who will take office in January as a Shelby County commissioner, said he had heard talk of at least three possible routes the tollway could take through Shelby County, southeast of Indianapolis, where it would cross I-74.\n"This road will change the character of Shelby County for generations," said Doug Warnecke, president of the Shelby County commissioners. "It will be like a gigantic 'X' right through Shelby County. People need to study this thing and look at the impact. It will be much more pervasive than they may think."\nPendleton Town Council President Don Henderson, whose town is near the projected northern end of the tollway, said he saw many possible benefits from the project.\n"I think it creates a venue and a road system that will accommodate additional industry that otherwise wouldn't come here," he said.\nThe governor's plan calls for a private company to pay for the estimated $1 billion to $1.5 billion cost of building the tollway, as well as the costs of designing, maintaining and managing it. The proposal, which needs legislative approval, would have private investors collect toll fees and pay the state a concession fee.\nMadison County Commissioner Paul Wilson said he had concerns about the environmental impact of building the new tollway and of the state government using eminent domain for a privately operated highway.\n"When you do a project like this, there are some people who want to sell but other people who don't," he said.\nShelby County Councilman Kermit Paris said while he expected many residents to be upset over the tollway, he thought more would ultimately support its construction.\n"It will help the infrastructure of our county and will help attract factories, which will then bring jobs to our county," he said. "I've got to see more of the proposal and study it a little harder, but I don't think it's a terribly bad idea"