Toll Road to hike most fees Tuesday

Electronic pass lets commuters lock in current rates for 8 years; truckers bear brunt of increase

March 31, 2008

By Bill Ruthhart, Indiana Star

Each of the 21 plazas on the Indiana Toll Road will offer electronic tolling starting Tuesday, but fees will be about double for commuters who do not use i-Zoom passes.

The toll increases were scheduled as part of the June 2006 agreement by the state to lease the Northern Indiana highway to a private consortium for 75 years at a price tag of $3.8 billion.

Under that agreement, however, those traveling in two-axle vehicles who use the electronic i-Zoom passes are guaranteed to have their tolls frozen at current rates until 2016.

Currently, a trip the full length of the 157-mile Toll Road costs $4.65. Starting Tuesday, those driving two-axle vehicles without i-Zoom will pay $8 to travel that stretch.

All drivers of vehicles with three axles or more automatically will pay toll increases, regardless of whether they use i-Zoom.

"The spirit of the toll freeze is for local users," said Matt Pierce, spokesman for the Indiana Toll Road Concession Co., which operates the roadway.

"This is the first time tolls are going to increase for a two-axle vehicle since 1985, and those individuals continuing to pay with their electronic transponder are going to pay that 1985 rate of $4.65 for the next eight years."

In 2006, Gov. Mitch Daniels pitched the plan to privatize the highway, using the money it generated to fund Major Moves, a 10-year road-building project across the state. Macquarie-Cintra, an Australian-Spanish consortium, won the right to operate the roadway with the high bid of $3.8 billion.

Although that bid did not include a freeze on tolls, state lawmakers decided proceeds of the lease should be used to freeze tolls. That cost has been estimated at $190 million over the 10 years, said Jennifer Alvey, the state's public finance director.

"Indiana motorists will be paying the prices of 1985 in 2016. What else can you buy at currently 23-year-old, and eventually 30-year-old, prices?" Daniels said. "It means out-of-state traffic, most of it out-of-state trucks and commercial, is paying to build Indiana's future."

Not everyone is thrilled.

Michael Brettin, 37, Valparaiso, said he refers to the highway as the "Indiana Hole Road" because of its condition.

"The prices that they are wanting are absolutely ridiculous for the shape that that road is in," said Brettin, a firefighter. "When you're driving down the Toll Road at 5 a.m. and you see 30 cars off to the side with flat tires because of potholes -- that's why it's the Indiana Hole Road."

Although Brettin said some fixes have been made, he thinks the consortium leasing the roadway has an incentive to make as few repairs as possible to maximize profits.

"We're going to see a lot less services for a lot more money," he said. "This was never a good deal to begin with."

State officials, however, say provisions in the lease agreement will force the consortium to maintain the roadway at proper standards. Daniels said tolls on the highway still are lower than those on similar roadways in other states.

Truckers will be paying the bulk of Tuesday's toll increases at a time when business is slow.

Kenneth E. Cragen, president of the Indiana Motor Truck Association, said the industry has felt the effects of a slumping economy.

"It's a tough time for us, because the freight market is soft right now and, of course, fuel prices are skyrocketing," Cragen said. "So, it's a tough situation for trucks on the Toll Road."

Daniels acknowledged the concerns, calling Tuesday's toll increases "an unlucky bit of timing, no question."

The truckers association supported the lease, citing the improvements that would be made to the state's infrastructure. Cragen said Hoosier truckers will welcome the i-Zoom system.

"There's a convenience and savings, too," Cragen said. "That's an important technical improvement for us, because it saves time and fuel."

Pierce said the Toll Road has seen a rush of commuters who want to stick the i-Zoom transponders on their dash. The electronic tags cost $50; $40 goes into the commuter's electronic tolling account, and $10 is a refundable deposit.

The first 23 miles of the Toll Road -- from the Illinois state line to Portage -- have had electronic tolling for about a year, and many drivers in Lake County use the Illinois IPASS to pay tolls there. During peak times on that stretch, 60 percent of drivers use the electronic transponders.

"Northwest Indiana was pretty covered, so where we're picking up our new i-Zoom users is in places like South Bend and Elkhart," Pierce said. "We've seen about 10,000 of those folks come on line with the electronic tolling, and we expect to have 20,000 to 30,000 before the end of 2008."