Illiana path runs through Indiana House

BY KEITH BENMAN, Times of Northwest Indiana

kbenman@nwitimes.com

MERRILLVILLE | Northwest Indiana will only get an Illiana Expressway if residents here want the roadway, state Transportation Commissioner Karl Browning told 80 people at the Radisson Hotel on Wednesday.

"The fact is we do not know today what it will look like, where the ramps will go or any of those questions people want to know about," Browning said.

The new commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation left no doubt that the key to getting the roadway built is a bill in the Indiana House that gives the governor authority to build the road as a public-private partnership.

Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman reinforced that view, saying the governor only brought up the project after hearing about it whenever he traveled to Northwest Indiana.

"While we see this as a great project ... it's much more important that you believe this has potential," Skillman said.

"We want a road that meets your vision. We want the kind of road that meets your plans for growth."

On the job just two months, Browning came to the Radisson at the invitation of The Times to speak about the Illiana. He spoke to members of The Times Editorial Advisory Board from Lake County, Porter County and Illinois, as well as invited elected officials.

Browning laid out a realistic timeline of seven to 10 years before ground can be broken on the project. That contrasts with Gov. Mitch Daniels' optimistic prediction of three years, which he made less than three months ago at the Hammond Rotary.

Browning said the many questions on the Illiana only can be answered through an environmental and economic impact study. But that will only be undertaken if the bill authorizing the roadway gets through the House.

The Senate already has approved its version of the bill, Senate Bill 1.

"I think what has troubled me ... is there seems to be a great deal of ignorance and superstition and even some mythology around this program called Senate Bill 1," Browning said.

The audience, some who support the roadway and some of whom have made their opposition known, asked questions of Browning when he was done speaking.

Lowell Town Council President David Gard said a map of the proposed Illiana corridor as a big blue line cutting a swath across Northwest Indiana is creating much of the controversy over the road.

"That is what the public really has to be educated about," Gard said. "The meetings I was at, that's where most of the excitement came from, the blue line."

Times Publisher Bill Masterson Jr. wanted to know why the project can't be sped up.

Browning said environmental concerns surrounding the Kankakee basin are just one factor that means getting a shovel in the ground is at least seven years away.

LaPorte County Commissioner Mike Bohacek wanted to know how communities will get money for extending utilities to interchanges or other Illiana facilities that may need them.

Browning said those are the questions to be answered by the study.

"Until you know what the environmental impact is, you don't know where the road will be built," Browning said.

Lake County Sheriff Rogelio "Roy" Dominguez said a lack of information on the lease of the Indiana Toll Road created much of the controversy over that issue and could also present difficulties for the Illiana.