Indiana is seeking investors for its 12-mile chunk of the proposed 47-mile-long Illiana toll road.
“This is a just a precursor,” Indiana Department of Transportation spokesman Jim Pinkerton said of Tuesday’s “request for qualifications” released by INDOT and the Indiana Finance Authority. “It allows companies or groups to send us criteria to why they’re qualified for this.”
The Indiana portion of the Illiana corridor runs from the state line east to Interstate 65, just northeast of Lowell. The Illinois leg runs through Will and Kankakee counties to Interstate 57 and Interstate 55.
The entire highway is expected to cost about $1.5 billion; Indiana’s is about $300 million. Officials from both states believe the so-called public/private partnership is a faster, cheaper way to build the highway.
Pinkerton said INDOT included widening a 12-mile stretch of I-65 between U.S. 30 and Indiana 2 in the same package to make it more attractive to investors. That interstate, however, will not be a toll road.
Before Illiana can move forward, the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission must approve including Illiana and the I-65 widening project in its 2040 master plan. The commissioners, largely elected officials from Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties, will vote Dec. 12. Pinkerton said the projects would not be voted on separately.
If NIRPC approves the projects, Pinkerton said requests for proposals would be issued in May, likely to a pared-down list of those who responded to Tuesday’s qualifications call. Illiana and the I-65 widening are on a 2018 completion timetable.
Illinois sent out a request for qualifications last week. The two states are coordinating technical requirements, tolling policy, the federal environmental approval process, and construction schedules.