Talk:Indiana Toll Road/major moves

Major Moves is the name of a plan conceived by Indiana governor Mitch Daniels to lease the Indiana Toll Road for 75 years to an Australian-Spanish consortium for an upfront payment of $3.8 billion. Part of the proceeds will fund a portion of the planned extension of Interstate 69 through southwestern Indiana.

Legislation
Regarding the legislation, Gov. Mitch Daniels said "You're either for this bill or you're against our future", at a statehouse rally in Indianapolis on February 28, 2006. Specifically the legislation authorizes the governor to establish a similar P3 agreement for design, construction, and operation of the proposed Southern Indiana Toll Road, which will make up 117 mi of the planned 142 mi extension (188 of 229 km) of Interstate 69 from Indianapolis to Evansville. On November 9, 2006, Governor Daniels announced that the I-69 extension would not be tolled. Governor Daniels abandoned the idea of building the I-69/SITR for two reasons: While there is substantial bi-partisan support for building I-69, constructing it as a toll road proved to be widely unpopular. More significantly, several firms interested in the SITR deal determined that a toll road through southwest Indiana was not economically feasible at the present time. In lieu of the SITR, I-69 will be built using $700 million of the Major Moves payout for the section from I-64/I-164 to Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center. It is expected that the remaining half of the I-69 extension from Crane to Indianapolis will be built using traditional federal/state highway funds.

Distribution of Major Moves funding
On September 15, 2006, funds were distributed by an electronic wire transfer to the seven counties in which the toll road runs through. The chart below shows each county's total share in the Major Moves money. Some of the funds from each counties' distribution was diverted to each city or town within the country. Each county auditor will be responsible for distributing a portion of the money to each city and town. 


 * Elkhart County: $40 million
 * La Grange County: $40 million
 * Lake County: $15 million
 * La Porte County: $40 million1
 * Porter County: $40 million
 * Steuben County: $40 million
 * St. Joseph County: $40 million

1 - Total distribution amount will be $25 million if Laporte County joins the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority by September 15, 2006. If not a member by September 15, 2006, then the total distribution amount will be $40 million. 

Opposition to Major Moves
Opponents of the legislation filed a lawsuit in St. Joseph County in late April 2006. Following roughly two weeks of arguments, Judge Michael Scopelitis ruled in favor of the state of Indiana, declaring the lawsuit brought by opponents a public lawsuit, thus requiring the plaintiffs to post a bond of $1.9 billion for the case to proceed. In response, plaintiffs appealed Scopelitis' ruling to the Indiana Supreme Court, which on June 20, 2006, in a 4-0 decision, upheld Judge Scopelitis' earlier decision, paving the way for the deal to lease the Indiana Toll Road to proceed as scheduled on June 30, 2006.

The Libertarian Party of La Porte County, opposed Major Moves quite vocally, proclaiming that "Pirates [have] return[ed] to the shores of Lake Michigan" in a news release. The toll road passes through La Porte County and also has two toll gates in that county.

Elected officials and candidates for office in many toll road counties expressed concerns that the share of funds being allocated to projects in and around Indianapolis was too great. "This is another time where they're taking resources we use to develop our part of the state and taking them down to Indianapolis," said Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City. "We've always felt like it's Indianapolis versus the rest of the state," said Rep. Robert Kuzman, D-Crown Point. "So far, Indianapolis is winning this battle." 

Indiana House Democratic leader Pat Bauer of South Bend issued a written statement the day before funding was distributed to the counties mocking Major Moves “Now that the deal is done, the governor and officials in his administration have traveled the state to claim that the sale has financed every major road project scheduled over the next decade,” Bauer said. “The fact is that most of these projects already were on course to be completed, without any assistance from the sale of the toll road."

Sources and external links
Category:Transportation in Indiana Category:Toll roads Category:Toll roads in the United States
 * Major Moves
 * Reason Foundation Testimony