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Mitch's Myths - the road to hell is paved with PR Indy Bypass Toll Road - the latest proposal without a need Illiana Toll Road - will northern Indiana have any free roads left? New Terrain I-69 - throwing a billion dollars out the window Indiana Toll Road - raw deal with lessons for other toll road proposals LINKS
No Illiana Expressway
TURF
Save Our Turnpikes
YouTube
PBS: Texas Tollroads
- part 1
Specific Information
SB 1
both toll roads
"The Highwaymen" -- by Daniel Schulman & James Ridgeway for Mother Jones -- An expose' about the sale of the IN Toll Road by Mitch Daniels -- this is a MUST READ !!
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New Terrain I-69 Governor Mitch Daniels is the third Governor to press for new terrain I-69 route 3c despite the exorbitant price tag, the destruction of family farms and environmental damage it will unnecessarily cause, and the overwhelming public opposition to it.
Volumes of detailed information are available through the links on the right. Here we will try to keep to some of the highlights of the history, impact, financing and public backlash on new terrain I-69. These experiences tie directly into the proposed Indy Bypass Toll Road, the proposed Illiana Toll Road and the sale of the Indiana Toll Road. They also illustrate the methods used by this Governor and INDOT to get what they want by passing out erroneous and incomplete information to the public and the Legislature. A Boondoggle By Any Other Name Lets face it, we are talking about a route that costs $1 billion more than the Common Sense Route (I-70 / US 41) just to save 15 minutes driving between Indianapolis and Evansville. No wonder it received Tom Brokaw's award as a 'Fleecing of America'. It was also proclaimed a 'Road to Ruin: the 50 most wasteful roads in America' by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a non-partisan budget watchdog. The route is so overpriced that Governor Mitch Daniels declared it would be 'a toll road or no road'. When his pet contractors Bernardin & Lochmeuller delivered an amendment to the Tier I FEIS [caution: big pdf file - may take a while to load into your browser] (basically a report; see glossary) that utterly failed to show this route could survive financially as a toll road, Daniels proposed the money come from a brand new Toll Road: the Indy ByPass Toll Road. After thousands of citizens declared their opposition to the Indy ByPass Toll Road plan, Daniels dropped the proposal. So at this point, not counting increases in the cost of materials and labor that have occurred in the last few years, we have the following financing needs for the boondoggle route. In December 2003, INDOT estimated the cost of the 142-mile New Terrain I-69 would be $1.8 billion dollars. After selling the Indiana Toll Road last year, Daniels declared $700 million of the money is earmarked for building I-69. New INDOT Cost Estimate Soars 89% With the Tier 1 study completed, the proposed route was split into 6 sections and each section will be the subject of a separate Tier 2 study. The first of these Tier 2 studies is now being circulated in its draft form: I-69 Evansville to Indianapolis Tier 2 Draft Environmental Impact Statement Section 1: Evansville to Oakland City, December 2006 Section 1 is a 13 mile stretch which INDOT estimated in 2003 would cost $122 million to build. This new Tier 2 study now estimates the cost to be $230 million -- a whopping 89% increase. INDOT is using a cost formula updated with recent comparative project costs and will apply this new formula to all sections of the proposed I-69 project. This brings the cost of I-69 from Evansville to Indianapolis $3.35 billion. Adding in a conservatively updated cost for the extension from Evansville to Kentucky of $595 million, and you get $3.9 billion. This is nothing less than a super-sized boondoggle now!! And, it will cost MORE than the state received for selling the Indiana Toll Road in 2006. These new cost projections were used to re-examine the cost benefits that INDOT claimed would be derived from construction of new terrain I-69. In 2003 INDOT claimed a slightly positive benefit to cost ratio. The new data reveals that the highway now will cost over a billion dollars more to construct than it can ever return in economic development. "The growing price tag for new terrain I-69 means that deserving road projects in other parts of the state would be at risk of losing funding if this costly and environmentally-destructive project goes forward", says Tom Tokarski of CARR. And Tim Maloney of the Hoosier Environmental Council suggests that "the best way to minimize costs and maximize economic and environmental benefits is to use the common sense solution of US 41 / I-70." Path of Destruction The route for New Terrain I-69 being pushed by Governor Daniels will be especially destructive. It would wipe out 2800 more acres of farmland, 1000 more acres of forest, 90 more acres of wetlands and over 3800 more acres of right-of-way than the Common Sense (I-70 / US 41) route. It would wipe out $61 million in Perry Township assessed value, Marion County, resulting in a loss of at least $1.3 million in tax revenues per year. Fuzzy Math The New Terrain I-69 route would cost $2.7 million per year more in maintenance costs than the Common Sense route. Using INDOT's own numbers, the cost-per-job created would be $359,375. Every independent cost-benefit analysis on I-69 since 1990 shows a negative return on investment. The latest study by Smart Mobility shows a return of 66 cents for every dollar invested. The Common Sense Route passes through the poorest Counties in Indiana. The New Terrain Route will impose further economic hardship on them. Studies Upon Studies The Environmental Impact Study for I-69 was broken up into two parts. Tier I examined the performance of a number of routes against 'key goals' in order to select a preferred route. That preferred route is the New Terrain I-69 route we have been discussing here. Tier II studies were divided into 6 Sections and each section is currently being studied for exact road position, closer examination of the environmental, social, and economic impacts. Section I now has a draft Tier 2 EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) available for public comment. Public comments have always been overwhelmingly opposed to this route for I-69. 20,467 of 21,873 Citizen opinions submitted to INDOT with a route preference, supported the Common Sense Route (I-70 / US 41) and opposed New Terrain I-69. Township, City and Town governments up and down the 'preferred route' have taken official positions opposing the New Terrain Route. Looking Forward During last year's Legislative Session, Mitch Daniels was given permission to toll and privatize the New Terrain I-69 route between Martinsville and Evansville; he was barred from doing so between Martinsville and Indy. He was also barred from building I-69 through Perry Township, Marion County. Senator Tom Wyss (R-Fort Wayne) introduced a bill (SB 1) to switch the Governor's authorization to toll and privatize New Terrain I-69 onto his proposed Indy ByPass Toll Road and the Illiana Toll Road. This bill passed out of the Senate and now awaits hearing in the Transportation Committee of the House. Field Hearings in three counties brought out thousands of citizens opposed to the Toll Road. On March 24, 2007, Governor Daniels pulled his support for the Indy ByPass Toll Road. You CAN make a difference bookmark alltolled.com and visit us often |
Do Something Now- help stop the madness with just minutes a month Calendar - important hearings and meetings Effects of Interstates - burdens imposed on Cities & Towns Video - Outtakes of various meeting Email Options Sign Up -- for alltolled.com news and notices (just click 'send') Got Questions? -- send them to us Got a Comment? -- we'd like to hear it Contact Your Elected Officials
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