By Dan Shaw, Evansville Courier & Press
Indiana will extend Interstate 69 to Evansville for a lot less than $3 billion, Gov. Mitch Daniels said Monday.
Speaking at a lunch held by the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana, Daniels said he thinks some state officials exaggerated when they released new cost estimates for building a section of I-69 from Indianapolis to Evansville. A 2003 estimate had pegged the project at $1.77 billion. Last week, though, the Indiana Department of Transportation raised that estimate to $3.1 billion, citing inflation as a reason for the change.
Daniels said he hopes to avoid some of the increase by encouraging transportation officials to ignore federal construction standards which go beyond what is necessary.
"Throw away the rule book to the extent the feds will let you do it," Daniels has told INDOT officials. "There are a lot of things you can do if you are not wedded to the federal route."
As examples, Daniels said the highway's median could be made narrower than those used on many highways. Money could also be saved by laying down a thinner layer of pavement in early years of the construction, when the road doesn't go all the way to Indianapolis and isn't likely to carry heavy traffic. At the approach of the completion date, which hasn't been determined yet, an additional layer could be put down.
Daniels also noted that the cost of petroleum, steel and other materials is fairly low.
As a result, recent bids for construction projects have become in below expectations.
"And in a tough economy, bidders are competing for this business," he said. "The taxpayers are getting the benefit from that."
The need to cut costs was the theme of the rest of Daniels' speech. He rehashed his ongoing debate with legislators of both parties over the state's budget for the next two years.
Daniels insists that at least $1 billion be cut from a plan first proposed by the state Senate and later quashed in the House. Some lawmakers bridle at so great a reduction, saying it will entail too great a loss of public services.
On Monday, Daniels said the reason for his position is simple. In April, the state's revenue fell $255 million below what was called for in projections made just a couple of weeks earlier.
Daniels sees little cause for hoping the loss will be recouped any time soon. Looking at "realistic" projections, he thinks the state's revenues will remain below their 2007 level until 2011 at least.
Daniels gave a number of reasons for the shortfall: Hoosiers are buying fewer things, causing the state to collect less in sales taxes; a large number of workers have lost their jobs, causing revenues from income taxes to fall.
To avoid large deficits, Daniels proposes cutting the budgets of most state departments - sometime by as much as 10 percent. At the same time, he is placing a priority on sparing schools, public safety and programs meant to protect children from abuse.
Many states, he noted, are looking to reduce spending in those same areas.
"We are not going to have anything like that in Indiana, unless we mess it up this time," he said.