I-69 Funding Raises Concern

By BRYAN CORBIN, Courier & Press Statehouse bureau (317) 631-7405 or corbinb@courierpress.com

A prominent state senator warned Thursday there won’t be funds to extend Interstate 69 all the way from Evansville to Indianapolis, unless the Legislature passes the governor’s privatized toll road proposal.

Senate Transportation Chairman Thomas Wyss defended the governor’s Indiana Commerce Connector bill, which has run into opposition in central Indiana where the toll road would be built.

“The connector is the basis for completion of I-69. Without the connector and it being a toll connector, I believe that the continuation of I-69 from Evansville to Indianapolis is impossible,” said Wyss, R-Fort Wayne.

“There just is not going to be the funds available for that. Unless there are some dramatic tax increases that are due to gasoline for that section, it can’t be done.”

Wyss’ pronouncement during a news conference came two days after his Senate committee heard a bill, Senate Bill 1, that would transfer tolling authority from the new section of Interstate 69 to two new privatized tollways: the Commerce Connector in suburban Indianapolis and the Illiana Expressway in northwestern Indiana.

While mayors, businesspeople and economic-development directors spoke in favor of the Commerce Connector bill, residents in the area affected by the proposed privatized toll road spoke out against it, citing eminent domain concerns.

$700 million

Standing-room-only crowds also have attended the Indiana Department of Transportation’s public meetings on the Commerce Connector, with most attendees speaking out against the proposal.

Though the Major Moves toll-road lease approved last year raised $700 million to build Interstate 69 through Southwestern Indiana, that amount is enough to cover construction from Evansville to the Crane warfare center only.

To fund the remainder of the $2 billion project, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels has proposed the suburban Indianapolis toll road, for which a private entity could pay the state for the rights to build and operate it. Proceeds would be used to finish I-69 and allow I- 69 to be a freeway, not a toll road, its entire length, Daniels has said.

Senate President Pro Tem David Long, who spoke alongside Wyss, said the Commerce Connector and Illiana Expressway proposals are different from last year’s Major Moves legislation, which involved the $3.86 billion lease of an existing toll road to a Spanish- Australian consortium.

“Even those people, the legislators and representatives who opposed Major Moves, recognize this is a different kind of proposal, because these roads don’t exist. I think you can approach this differently than Major Moves,” said Long, R-Fort Wayne.

Also included in Senate Bill 1 is a second privatized tollway, the Illiana Expressway, which would divert traffic between Michigan City and the Chicago suburbs through Lake and Porter counties in northwestern Indiana. Asked if any proceeds from the Illiana Expressway would be used to fund I-69 in Southwestern Indiana, Wyss said, “It may.”

Long acknowledged the fate of the Commerce Connector proposal hinges on acceptance of the idea by the public.

The economic development the 75-mile connector road would bring to six central Indiana counties would be new industries, not just gas stations or fast-food restaurants, Long predicted.

Economic models

“If you look at economic models out there, a good interstate is one of the keys to a healthy economy,” he said.

A House Democrat from Southwestern Indiana, Rep. David Crooks, said opposition to the connector idea in central Indiana has become apparent.

“There’s been no detailed summary giving legislators more information on why this is so necessary — even though I personally think it’s worth exploring,” said Crooks, D-Washington.

Crooks suggested that if the Commerce Connector idea fails and a backup plan is needed, that I-69 be built as a state-run toll road.

“If the connector doesn’t pass this session, I hope we’ll find some creative way to create tolling authority that the state can do itself — and move I-69 to the front burner again,” Crooks said.

Wyss said he plans to have members of his Senate committee vote on the proposal Tuesday.

(c) 2007 Evansville Courier & Press. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.