INDIANAPOLIS — As gas tax revenue for Indiana’s interstate highway system continues to go down, the Braun Administration said it’s considering new tolling options to make up the difference.
A statement from Chief of Staff Josh Kelley reads:
“No decisions have been made, but tolling has to be considered to maintain our current and future infrastructure, and we are exploring all potential options.”
“The gas tax is not going to be sufficient over the long term; we need to make some changes in order to address short-term and long-term needs,” David Ober, Senior Vice President for Business Operations & Finance at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, said.
Ober said a legislative road funding task force determined the state faces an annual shortfall between $600-800 million in terms of maintaining current state roads.
“Tolling presents that opportunity to kind of gather resources from folks who are using the roads but not adequately paying,” Ober said. “The need is great to maintain, and we hope to not just maintain, we hope to be able to expand our network.”
“The process needs to begin to move forward,” Brian Gould, the Executive Director of the Build Indiana Council, said.
According to Gould, roughly 50% of annual traffic on I-70 alone comes from out of state.
“They don’t stop for lunch or a candy bar, so we need to ensure those motorists are paying in, not just Hoosiers,” Gould said. “Tolling really creates an opportunity where, regardless of your fuel source, how many MPG you get, we’re all going to pay the same amount to get from point A to point B.”
Although the IGA gave the governor authority to toll roads in 2017, the governor can now request federal waivers to add new tolling facilities within 75 miles of an existing toll road due to the passage of HEA 1461 this session.
“It’s not about tolling every road; it’s about targeted solutions on high-volume routes,” Ober said. “I-65 and I-70 have a lot of traffic, and making needed investments to be able to expand those arteries to handle that traffic and improve the flow is something worthy of consideration.”
But even if the governor were to receive federal approval to build new tolling facilities, Gould said it could take another 4-5 years before Hoosiers can expect to see them.
“You’ve got the approval process, you’ve got federal highways going to take time to review it…always the potential for litigation, and there likely will be in some way,” Gould said.
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