Opposed to higher tolls? Get Australia on phone

INDIANAPOLIS | Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels plans to nearly double Indiana Toll Road fares later this year, but by the time commuters get a say, it could be a pair foreign firms reaching deeper into their wallets.

Public hearings scheduled for this week have been moved back to March 23 and 24 -- a week after the General Assembly adjourns, and well after lawmakers will have decided whether to turn the Toll Road over to a Spanish-Australian consortium.

The administration says the toll increase will come with or without the lease. But one local lawmaker says the hearing schedule only underscores the take-it-or-leave approach he's seen from Daniels.

"I doubt whether he's genuine when he asks for input from the public, with the exceptions of 'Yes, sir, you're right,'" said Rep. Duane Cheney, D-Portage.

"He's like (President George W.) Bush. He surrounds himself with Yes people."

Daniels, who served as the president's first budget director, wants to cede Toll Road operations to Cintra-Macquarie, a Spanish-Australian partnership that has offered $3.85 billion for a 75-year lease.

Democrats are fighting the proposal, but they have been muted by their minority status in the House and Senate.

"What we have here is another attempt to deflect attention from the opportunity we have to improve our highway infrastructure and our economy," Daniels spokeswoman Jane Jankowski said.

The governor plans to use the Toll Road lease proceeds to funds dozens of road projects that he says will create thousands of jobs. Democrats, meanwhile, say the state could raise $2 billion for road construction by foregoing the lease and borrowing against the proposed toll increases.

"I think delaying the public hearings until after the General Assembly is gone seems to be because of the controversy in the Toll Road plan," said Rep. Bob Kuzman, D-Crown Point.

The proposed commuter toll increases have been on the table since September, Jankowski stressed.

The Indiana Department of Transportation says the hearings had to be pushed back a second time after the governor agreed to cushion the hit that higher tolls will take on the trucking industry.

"That's why we're doing what we're doing," agency spokesman Gary Abell said.

The hearings originally were scheduled for December. Last month, the Indiana Motor Truck Association pledged support for the governor's highway plan, and he agreed to gradually increase commercial truck tolls over four years. Daniels has not offered to ease the transition for commuters, who will see the cost of a trip across the 157-mile road increase overnight from $4.65 to $8.

Daniels, however, has supported legislative proposals to offer commuters either a 10-year toll freeze or an income tax deduction for tolls.