Toll road bill passes Indiana Senate; amendments to remove tolls failed

Chicago Tribune

16-04-2025

The toll road bill passed the Senate Tuesday, which followed Sen. Rodney Pol Jr., D-Chesterton, proposing amendments Monday to remove the toll language from the bill, which failed.
House Bill 1461, authored by state Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, would allow the state to charge tolls on all Indiana interstate highways, including I-80/94 and I-65.
Specifically, the bill would allow the Indiana Department of Transportation to submit a request to the Federal Highway Administration for a waiver to toll lanes on interstate highways. If the waiver is granted, the legislature would not have to enact a statute for the Indiana finance authority to take action on tolling.
As he presented the amendment to his bill to the Senate Appropriations Committee last week, Pressel said the bill includes 'a check and balance' on potential tolling.
'We put a check and balance in there to report back to the state budget committee that if any tolling is going to be done or considered that they would have to go through the state budget committee at least to make them aware of that,' Pressel previously said.
Along with tollways, House Bill 1461 allows for wheel tax, addresses bridge construction funding, allows excess distributions from the state's Community Crossings matching grant program to be distributed to all communities based on lane miles instead of road miles, along with other elements.
Pressel previously testified in committee that the state has seen a decrease in road funding dollars, which comes from gas tax, BMV registration and excise tax, as cars become more fuel efficient and people purchase less gas.
'When your road funding revenue is based on gallons sold … we are having the conversation: How do we fund roads into the future? Should it come out of the general fund? I don't believe that to be true. I think we should have user fees. You pay for what you use,' Pressel previously said.
By 2030, the state will have to fund $1.2 billion and local governments will have to fund between $900 million to $2.5 billion in road projects because of inflation costs and the reduction in drivers purchasing gas, Pressel said.
Pol offered an amendment Monday to remove the language allowing INDOT to submit for the tollway waiver, and other tollway language including allowing INDOT, with the governor's approval, to determine that a state highway should become a tollway.
'This is something that I've heard a tremendous amount from my constituency,' Pol said. 'Northwest Indiana does not support another toll road in our area.'
Sen. Michael Crider, R-Greenfield, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, asked the chamber to defeat the amendment because 'if you take tolling out of this discussion, then you essentially curb our ability to have a real discussion about road funding.' But, Crider said since 2017 state statute has given the governor's office the ability to toll.
'We're in a situation where INDOT is currently delaying projects,' Crider said. 'Let's let the governor's office and INDOT have a real robust discussion about the way we're going to fund our roads going forward.'
The amendment failed 15-33.
The bill states that if a waiver is applied for after January 2025, then it circumvents current law that states toll lanes need to be 75 miles from an interstate highway or bridge that already has tolling. Pol filed an amendment to restore the 75-mile exemption from tolling.
In Northwest Indiana, residents already pay for tolls, including the Skyway and proximity to Chicago, Pol said. To avoid tolls, Northwest Indiana side streets see high rates of traffic, which has translated to increased road maintenance costs, he said.
'A new toll would directly contradict a larger legislative initiative and goal of alleviating financial burden for our Hoosiers,' Pol said. 'This is a very simple amendment. It is just adding back to what is our current law. That 75-mile radius means something. It was the legislative intent when we established it in 2017, it should remain the intent going forward.'
Crider said the chamber should oppose the amendment because the 75 miles language 'is problematic' because 75 miles from I-80 would reach outside of Lafayette.
'We're in a situation where we do not have a funding stream currently that is going to fund the infrastructure needs of our state,' Crider said.
The amendment failed 12-35.
The bill was further amended Monday to include $50 million to Marion County for the construction, reconstruction and preservation of streets but cannot be used for reducing capacity of existing roads, greenways, bike lanes, bike trails and sidewalks.
Another Senate amendment included township board approval of providing money for the improvement and maintenance of roads and infrastructure.
The Senate passed the bill Tuesday 38-10. The bill will go back to the House because it was amended in the Senate.