« Courts - The upshot on: Kentucky Supreme Court carries out records purge | Main | Ind. Decisions - Indiana Supreme Court rules on taking claim against Indianapolis International Airport »

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Ind. Gov't. - Governor's Illiana and Commerce Connector proposals under fire

[Opinion piece] The ILB tries always to remain nonpartisan, but coming from Chesterton in Porter County, the farms of many of my friends are directly in the path of the Governor's recently unveiled plan to take by eminent domain a long swath of prime farmland from Lake through Porter through LaPorte counties in NW Indiana, to be used by a consortium of private investors to build a toll road to divert truck trafffic through the rural southern part of those counties. The Illiana Expressway would be privately build and operated, with some of the profits going to the State, which by a number of reports would use the toll money to assure that tolls need never be charged on the south leg of I-69. The Commerce Connector to be built around Indianapolis follows the same plan.

There were three public hearings in NW Indiana last Saturday. There was little notice given for the hearings. But many hundreds of people turned out in Lake, Porter, and LaPorte Counties to protest the scheme. The hearing went on for hours before the INDOT/Governor's office people finally brought them to a close.

Senate Bill 1 is to be heard today in the Committee on Homeland Security, Transportation & Veterans Affairs. Authors include Senators Landske, Wyss, Becker, Delph, Howard, Merritt, Jr., Rogers, Tallian. Senator Wyss of Fort Wayne also chairs the Committee.

Jim Stinson of the Gary Post-Tribune has this report today, headlined "Illiana road route in doubt: Route may be redrawn today." The story reads:

The governor's plans to build the Illiana Expressway have hit a fork in the legislative road. After contentious public hearings Saturday, legislators are rethinking how to build the expressway.

State Sen. Vic Heinold, R-Kouts, could attempt a change in the road's route with an amendment today.

"I'm concerned about the authority Senate Bill 1 gives," Heinold said. "As I interpret Senate Bill 1, this is not a small step, this is a giant leap."

Senate Bill 1, which authorizes construction of the Illiana Expressway and the Indiana Commerce Connector in Indianapolis, will be heard by the Senate Transportation Committee today.

The Indiana Department of Transportation conducted public hearings Saturday regarding Illiana.

The hearings brought out hundreds of opponents who decried the road's design.

The plans seem to mean something different to various public officials. Gov. Mitch Daniels' likely plan includes a joint Indiana-Illinois toll road from Interstate 57 in Illinois to Interstate 94 in LaPorte County.

That plan could cut south of Valparaiso and wind through prime agricultural territory in Porter and LaPorte counties. That has Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, very nervous.

Soliday said Illiana plans, as discussed for decades, usually ran from I-57 to Interstate 65. The eastward leg to LaPorte County has jolted many, even though it is still conceptual.

Both Illiana and the Commerce Connector are being pushed as public-private partnerships, or leased toll roads. The idea is to ease longtime congestion.

Soliday said the Northwest Indiana delegation was told by the governor if the Illiana Expressway proves unpopular, it won't be built. But the speed at which the process has moved already concerns Soliday.

"I've never heard of it until a couple weeks ago," said Soliday. "I think the study is a good idea. The problem is when you read the bill ... the bill doesn't say that. It just takes the stuff from last year and inserts Illiana and the Commerce Connector."

Here are some reports from Saturday's meetings. Some have photos, giving some indication of the size of the crowds.

From the LaPorte Herald-Argus, a story about the LaPorte hearing headlined: "Not so fast: Granted a public forum, county residents waste no time voicing concerns about proposed Illiana Expressway." From the Post-Tribune, a story about the Lake County hearing that begins:

Most of the 200-some people attending a meeting on the Illiana Expressway appeared to agree: The proposed new road is good in theory, but not at the expense of the problems it would bring to south Lake County.
From the Michigan City News-Dispatch, another story about the LaPorte hearing.

From the NWI Times, another story about the Crown Point hearing in Lake County. A quote:

Many residents said they are concerned about the power of eminent domain, which the government might use to obtain land for the highway. Some of them worried their farms could be in the path of the road and questioned the economic value of the proposed tollway.

"We already have an economy, and it’s called farming," one resident said.

Others, like Lois Kinch, said she feared the road would bring exactly the kind of development her family wanted to avoid when it moved to Lakes of the Four Seasons.

I've seen no stories as of yet about the hearing in Valparaiso in Porter County, but I've heard from those who attended that it was more of the same - large attendance and all against the proposal except for the "politicians" in the crowd. One reason that I've seen no published report from Porter County may be that the reporter from the Chesterton Tribune who usually covers these stories had to recuse herself because her family's property is in the path of the proposed Expressway.

[Update] Also today the Indianapolis Star has a story about the hearing Saturday in Johnson County on the proposed Commerce Connector, headlined "Legislators get earful about proposed toll road."

Bryan Corbin of the Evansville C&P reports today in a story headed "Indiana Commerce Connector would help finance I-69" that begins

INDIANAPOLIS - Officials will get an earful today from people supporting and opposing a plan to bankroll the rest of Interstate 69 construction through Southwestern Indiana, using proceeds from a proposed private tollway in the Indianapolis suburbs.

This morning, Senate Transportation Chairman Thomas Wyss will hold a bill hearing on a central piece of Gov. Mitch Daniels' agenda: the Indiana Commerce Connector.

Under the governor's proposal, the state could reap perhaps $1 billion by letting a private entity pay for the rights to build and operate the suburban tollway. That money then would be used to fund construction of the rest of the I-69 extension through Southwestern Indiana - and allow I-69 to be a freeway, not a tollway, for its entire distance.

Daniels has said his Commerce Connector proposal is his "Plan B" to ensure that I-69 is toll-free its entire distance. If the Legislature does not pass the proposal this session, then Daniels has said he would have to come up with a "Plan C."

An editorial today in the same paper, that begins "As it turns out, tolls are a possibility for Interstate 69, should Gov. Mitch Daniels' proposed Indianapolis bypass fail to garner legislative approval" gives some indication of how the Governor's proposals are pitting the north, central, and south thirds of the State against each other, as well as urban against rural.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 23, 2007 08:26 AM
Posted to Indiana Government