Toll Road cash gives Ohio River bridges key support

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BY KEITH BENMAN
kbenman@nwitimes.com
219.933.3326 | Saturday, January 05, 2008 | (1 comment(s))

Money from the Indiana Toll Road lease will help Indiana fund its $1.1 billion share of two new bridges that will span the Ohio River under a plan recently approved by the federal government.

The Federal Highway Administration this week gave the green light to the financial plan for the $4.1 billion joint project between Indiana and Kentucky, which is scheduled to start this year.

"It's a big step and everyone is happy to be moving forward," said Indiana Department of Transportation spokesman Andy Dietrick on Friday.

A bridge between Utica, Ind., and Jefferson County, Ky., is slated for completion by 2014. One connecting downtown Louisville with Jeffersonville, Ind., has a completion date of 2020.

Plans for the two bridges were a major factor in Gov. Mitch Daniels successful drive to gain statewide approval for the Toll Road lease from the Indiana General Assembly two years ago.

A foreign consortium paid Indiana $3.8 billion in June 2006 to lease and collect tolls on the Toll Road for 75 years. Indiana officials said the Ohio River bridge projects simply would not have been possible under the state's traditional road funding program.

Instead the Major Moves program was devised, with many important projects receiving full funding due to the Toll Road lease.

The Ohio bridges project was one of four "mega-projects" statewide that received funding under the $10.6 billion Major Moves highway initiative. The others are extending Interstate 69 from Indianapolis to Evansville; upgrading U.S. 31 between Indianapolis and South Bend; and extending the Hoosier Heartland highway from Logansport to Lafayette.

Kentucky still has not secured the entire $2.9 billion it must contribute to the bridges project. Funding is expected to be a contentious issue when the Kentucky General Assembly convenes next week.

Kentucky would use federal and state money it receives through gasoline taxes and other revenue -- an approach that has been criticized by some lawmakers for using large parts of the state's road budget.

"This is an important step in the process for us," Matt Bullock, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's interim project manager, said in reacting to the federal approval. "We will engage the legislature as we continue this discussion regarding the best ways to finance this project."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Toll Road dollars at work
While lacking the big-ticket items bestowed elsewhere, Major Moves provides for
$239 million in new construction for Lake County -- mostly on the Borman
Expressway -- and $27.9 million for Porter County -- on Ind. 49 and U.S. 6.
On the pavement repair and resurfacing side -- roughly half of all Major Moves
spending -- Lake County is promised $141 million, while Porter County gets
$36.8 million.
The counties also are getting another $31.4 million in local transportation
funds -- $23.7 million for Lake; $27.7 million for Porter.

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rustcity wrote on Jan 5, 2008 9:55 AM:

" How much will these two bridges across the Ohio River cost? Just the $1.1 billion alone for Indiana's portion of the funding should be enough to build several bridges. Why are these soooo costly? This just does not make sense. "

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