By James Polston
TheStatehouseFile.com

MARTINSVILLE, Ind. — Gov. Eric Holcomb announced a $1 billion investment in infrastructure projects Tuesday, funded by a 35 percent increase in toll rates for heavy duty vehicles on the Indiana toll road.

“Today we’re sending a big message to the world that Indiana is making a huge investment in our quality of life and for those who inspire to join us,” Holcomb said as he unveiled the infrastructure portion of his 2019 agenda in Martinsville. “We are linking Hoosiers to each other and to the world.”

The Next Level Connections program will connect Hoosiers digitally, by trails, roads, air, water and railroad with $1 billion that comes from a renegotiated deal with the Indiana Toll Road Concessions Company (ITRCC). 

Gov. Eric Holcomb unveils a $1 billion infrastructure project. Photo by James Polston, TheStatehouseFile.com

Holcomb said this was the third renegotiated contract with ITRCC since the toll road was created and funded the Major Moves project that former Gov. Mitch Daniels laid out in 2005. 

The renegotiation allows the ITRCC to raise tolls for three-axel vehicles and more by 35 percent. The ITRCC will pay the state the $1 billion over the next three years, with the first payment of $400 million is expected next month, the second payment of $300 million arriving in October 2019, and the third payment of $300 million landing in October 2020. 

The ITRCC will also invest $50 million more in upgrades to the toll road in the short term and a total of $500 million over 10 years. The upgrades include installation of smart truck parking system, expansion of overhead message boards, cameras and variable speed signs.

The governor will not need legislative approval because it is a renegotiated deal. The money will be put into Major Moves, the fund set up when the toll road was privatized,  and the Indiana Department of Transportation will distribute the money to the administration’s spending priorities.

The announcement has received positive and negative feedback from state lawmakers.

“Dependable infrastructure contributes greatly to Indiana’s economy and quality of life for our citizens,” state Sen. Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, said in a statement. “Ensuring our state has sound transportation and broadband systems is key as we work to continue attracting businesses and talent to our state, and I applaud the governor’s focus on this important issue.”

But state Rep. B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said the rate hike will have a negative impact on consumers by increasing the price of products like food and clothing hauled by the trucks. Tolls for the largest vehicles, for example, will increase from $44.46 to $60.02 for the length of the highway. 

“Gov. Holcomb is proposing yet another tax increase for vehicles traveling the Indiana Toll Road, this time in the form of a hike of more than 30 percent on commercial trucks,” Bauer said in a statement.

The $1 billion investment will be spent on the following infrastructure projects:

• $100 million will bring affordable high-speed fiber optic broadband access to unserved and underserved rural areas of the state.
• $90 million will create more hiking, biking and riding trails around the state. Holcomb announced the plan is to have a trail within five miles of anywhere Hoosiers  reside.
• $600 million will accelerate the completion of the Interstate 69 project from 2027 to 2024. Holcomb said when INDOT took over the I-69 project a year ago only 33 percent of section five was complete and to this day, INDOT is 97-percent done and days away from completion. The last section and will connect Martinsville to Indianapolis.
• $190 million will be spent on improvements to U.S. 20 and 30 and new interchanges on U.S. 31. Holcomb also said with the new interchanges in the works for U.S. 31, when completed, there will only be two stoplights from South Bend to Indianapolis.
• $20 million will be spent to create more international nonstop flights to and from Indianapolis. The Indianapolis International Airport just added its first nonstop international flight to Paris in May.

The parts that do not fall under the $1 billion spending plan are increasing the INDOT budget from $19 million to $57 million for state highway cleaning and mowing, the option for the state to purchase 725 acres of land in Lawrenceburg to create the state’s fourth water port, and two rail road projects in northern Indiana.

Holcomb will announce the rest if his 2019 agenda in the coming months.

James Polston is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.