Indiana House approves Illiana Expressway 89-6

INDIANAPOLIS | The Illiana Expressway won final approval by a wide margin in the Indiana House on Thursday.

The House voted 89-6 to allow a public-private partnership to be used to build and develop the proposed toll road connecting Interstate 65 in Lake County with Interstate 55 in Illinois.

After four weeks of legislative maneuvers, partisan games, public hearings and the occasional shouting match over the legislation in the House, the Illiana proposal was approved after just 10 minutes of respectful debate.

State Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, thanked several state representatives before explaining to the House the significance of the Illiana Expressway to the region.

"It is a very important project, not only for the thousands of jobs it will create, but also for relieving congestion on the Borman Expressway and promoting the economic development of Northwest Indiana," Pelath said.

Two Northwest Indiana lawmakers, state Rep. Shelli VanDenburgh, D-Crown Point, and state Rep. Don Lehe, R-Brookston, were among the six no votes.

VanDenburgh said she's not necessarily opposed to the road but can't support it until a definite route is selected.

"I need to know where it's going and who it affects," VanDenburgh said. "I just don't feel that we have enough information."

The Illiana legislation, Senate Bill 382, will now go back to the Senate to see if that chamber agrees with changes made by the House.

On Wednesday, the House amended the legislation to authorize a public-private partnership project for bridges over the Ohio River and to order a high-speed rail study for South Bend and Fort Wayne. Earlier this week, a House committee also added a requirement for additional public hearings and specified rules for eminent domain takings.

The Senate sponsor, state Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, can either accept those changes or choose to send the measure to a House-Senate conference committee to work out the differences in the separately approved versions of the legislation. The Senate voted 48-0 for the Illiana in January.

On Thursday, Charbonneau said he plans to look over the House changes this weekend before deciding what to do but is optimistic the Senate will continue to support the Illiana Expressway.

"I'm very confident that if we get a bill, whether its concurring with what comes out of the House or something that we feel is appropriate to present to the Senate and the House again through a conference committee, we have overwhelming support for the project again in the Senate," Charbonneau said.

The 10-mile long portion of the Illiana Expressway in Indiana is estimated to cost between $600 million and $1 billion depending on the route. The legislation authorizes a private company to build and operate the expressway as a toll road, but the state would forever own the land underneath the road.

Proponents claim the project could create upward of 10,000 jobs.