GOSHEN -- The Elkhart County commissioners on Monday offered their unanimous support to Gov. Mitch Daniels' plan to lease the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road, if the governor delivers what he promised.
The move came after a similar resolution failed to gain enough support of the Elkhart County Council on Saturday.
Daniels proposed to lease the toll road to a private company to help bridge a $2.8 billion gap in the state's transportation budget.
Elkhart County Council President John Letherman is expected to testify on the toll road bill at today's House Ways and Means Committee hearing in Indianapolis. He will also hand-deliver the commissioners' resolution.
The toll road lease is part of a Daniels transportation plan known as Major Moves.
"Is the fully funded Major Moves important to Elkhart County?" asked Elkhart County Commissioner Mike Yoder at the Monday meeting. It will provide Elkhart County with opportunities to improve county's roads and bridges, he said.
"I'm comfortable with it," said commissioner Terry Rodino. "It's a pretty vague document."
"We support Major Moves and the funding that is supported by House Bill 1008, subject to the governor's letter," Yoder said, "based on what we know now."
Access to the lease money for local projects and the U.S. 31 improvement project have been key concerns for local officials.
And Daniels was willing to meet those concerns.
If the legislation is adopted, Daniels promised to start upgrading U.S. 31 between South Bend and Plymouth "as soon as possible." In his letter to Letherman, Daniels pledges to begin construction no later than the end of 2008.
House Bill 1008 authorizes the governor to negotiate the lease agreement. It details that 34 percent of the lease amount would remain in the northern counties through which the toll road passes.
Bids for the lease are due Friday. The governor is expected to announce Monday whether the lease agreement is worth pursuing.