I’ll keep an open mind about it, but at the moment, I don’t “get” the “Indiana Commerce Connector” idea floated by Governor Daniels. As I understand it, it will be sort of an extended outer belt way around southern Indianapolis run by a private operator with tolls high enough to pay for its own construction as well as the construction of I-69 southeast from Indianapolis to Evansville.
The route will run from Pendleton on I-70 east of Indianapolis, south to Shelbyville on I-74 then east past Franklin on I-65 to Martinsville on what is projected to be I-69 then northwest to terminate at I-70 west of Indianapolis at about Mooresville.
So, I have a few questions:
1) How great is the need? At the moment traffic on I-70 and I-465 on the south side doesn’t seem particularly severe. Perhaps we’re just projecting into the future. But as far as local needs go, the north, particularly the northeast. But, presumably this isn’t primarily for local consumption — since we want outsiders to pay for our roads as much as possible.
2) What is or will be the demand for this service? This route seems ideal for commerce heading southwest from Ohio (or northeast to Ohio) and southeast from Illinois (or nortwest to Illinois). Seems like the straight east/west traffic will take the time hit from congestion in exchange for fewer miles and free miles. Is this a need with a current or future demand strong enough to make travelers willing to pay a toll that is high enough to pay, not only for the Commerce Connector bonds, but also for the construction of I-69 and give the private operator enough profit to induce it to undertake the risk?
3) How much will legislators have to sacrifice their purported commitment to property rights and antipathy to the use of eminent domain to get this thing built? Eminent domain will have to be used to build this thing. If nothing else there will be a temptation for free riders with land in the way to simply demand prices which are orders of magnitude higher than the value of their land simply because they know their neighbors have sold and the route has been fixed. In the wake of the Kelo decision, we heard a lot of rhetoric about the sanctity of property rights. This land will be seized by the government and turned over to a private operator. Is that acceptable to our policy makers? Personally, I think eminent domain is a necessary tool for governments which should be used cautiously. But what I heard from politicians in the wake of Kelo seemed to indicate a belief that there was no real place for eminent domain, particularly where the land was going to be turned over to a private operator.
I think eminent domain issues will be mentioned and used by a certain future House speaker as a reason why this is a bad idea, but at the end of the day, while the land is turned over to a private operator, it’s still owned by the State of Indiana. I guess I don’t see it any differently than the I-69 extension that will pass 3/4 mile from my home.
The risk seems to be the State could get stuck with a toll road that no one uses that someone else operated and paid to build. I also wonder who would sign up to build this road.
Need seems two-fold for me. One, I-69 on the southwest side will bring yet more traffic on I-465. It’s already six lanes each direction between I-70 and I-69 on the northeast side of Indianapolis – there’s a limit to how many lanes you can safely widen I-465.
Second, all the towns along the road (like every other town in Indiana) need economic development. Will this road bring what it promises? I’m not sure about that, but then again, I don’t have another suggestion as an alternative for economic development.
Getting I-69 built seems like a valuable economic development plan. This outer beltway doesn’t seem as intuitive to me.
I’d also recommend doing our part to try to get an interstate connection between Fort Wayne and Toledo. I know most of that is in Ohio’s hands, but Indy to Toledo and Cleveland should be an easy drive, but it’s not.
it sounds like a vehicle to get enough money to build the I-69 road, because Daniels knows he will face significant protest if he tries to make that a toll road.
Looks like a “road to nowhere” to me. I know that it is a connector to other roads, but it just seems like a desperate attempt to make work or just plop a toll road somewhere in Indiana. The idea of making 31 a toll road went over like a lead balloon.
Dustin, you willing to pay higher taxes for better roads? I am but I realize many Hoosiers already feel squeezed.
If you’re not for higher taxes, what’s the alternative to pay for it, given a governor who (rightly, IMO) doesn’t want to go into debt to do something?
Don’t know about the merits of the road as a whole, but the far lefthand part of it between I-69 and I-70 doesn’t seem to make much sense.
As someone who frequently drives on the Northeast side of Indianapolis via 37 and sometimes I-69, it definately sounds like a good idea for at least I-69 to I-74. I am a tad ignorant when it comes to the rest of the connectors. I know when traveling to Cincinatti, I never go clear to 465 to wrap to I-74, I always take combination of back roads and highway 9. It seems plausable, especially with the Honda plant being built on I-74, that the eastside is the most plausable. However, the toll price cannot be so much to deter semis and bypassers onto 465 still. It would definately save time and headaches, but it cannot be priced over the value those travelers place on such inconveniences.
I’m all for the westside component; it would make a lovely alternate route to the airport.
also, toll roads are evil. I say this still having my I-Pass stuck on my windshield even though I’ve moved away from Illinois: Capitol of Toll Roadosity.
The proposal to make 31 a toll road went nowhere because of the number (and makeup) of legislators who take that route to the statehouse. It was a shot at Bauer, IMO.
This is not required per traffic studies provided by indot. end of story.