The Indiana Toll Road privatization story is one that just doesn't seem to go away. For a road that cuts straight across northern Indiana, the plot has a lot of twists and turns.
It all begins, of course, in 2006, with Major Moves, Gov. Mitch Daniels' signature program. It was the 75-year lease of the Indiana Toll Road that prompted the $3.8 billion windfall and sparked a transportation infrastructure spending spree.
The lease required Indiana Toll Road Concession Co. to spend a lot of money on modernization, including additional lanes in Lake County and electronic tolling infrastructure throughout the entire length of the road.
But now the company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, leaving the future of the road's operations up for grabs.
U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., along with state Sen. Brent Waltz, R-Greenwood, and LaPorte County commissioners are wondering why the road isn't reverting to the state, the way Daniels said it would if a bankruptcy were to occur.
And now LaPorte County commissioners are pushing for a seven-county consortium that would put in a bid for operating the road. That would create a nonprofit entity, protecting the counties from any future bankruptcy.
The Lake County Board of Commissioners is expected to discuss joining that consortium this morning.
The idea of a seven-county consortium to operate the Indiana Toll Road sounds much like the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which operates the South Shore Line.
This idea for the Indiana Toll Road is worth exploring, even if state government doesn’t want the road back.
There are a lot of questions that need to be asked and answered before anyone can make a well-informed decision on this proposal, beginning with whether all seven counties are even interested in pursuing a potential.
Further, we must note the Toll Road requires more maintenance than most highways because there are toll plazas to maintain. And the existing pavement is aging, which will make pavement replacement not only expensive but also inevitable. Then there's the Borman Expressway interchange that is currently in rubble, waiting for the new Toll Road operator to foot the bill for the new ramp.
In short, whoever operates the Toll Road next will have a long list of expenses to be covered by tolls.