LAPORTE, IN - It wasn't too long ago that Governor Daniels and the legislature sold Hoosiers on the benefits of selling the Indiana Toll Road to private interests -- oh, a 75-year lease, sorry. Along with the promises of new construction came the assurance that tolls would not increase for years. The fine print stated otherwise. The release today shows that tolls, indeed, will increase for northern Indiana commuters while the rest of Indiana gets a fare-free run on Indiana's highways.
INDIANAPOLIS | If you're still paying cash on the Indiana Toll Road, it'll cost you more next month.
ITR Concession Co. is expected to finish installing electronic tolling
equipment on the 157-mile highway this month, a move that will allow the private operator to nearly double cash tolls for passenger vehicles. Starting April 1, a trip from Illinois to Ohio will cost $8, up from the current $4.65.
But drivers who use an electronic toll transponder, including an I-Pass or an i-Zoom, won't see a toll hike until 2016.
"Those with two-axle vehicles, which are basically cars, motorcycles and passenger trucks, will continue to have the toll freeze if they have a transponder," said Jennifer Alvey, Indiana's public finance director. "You continue to pay the rates that were set back in 1985."
Raising tolls for the first time in two decades was a linchpin to the 2006 deal that allowed Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels to secure a $3.8 billion windfall for a 75-year lease of the northern Toll Road. But state legislators insisted on softening the blow for Hoosier motorists by setting aside $278 million to underwrite a 10-year toll freeze.
Lawmakers actually prescribed a 40 percent discount until July 2016. But Alvey
said the state decided to go with a full freeze to avoid confusion.
The Indiana Finance Authority, which owns the Toll Road, finalized rules Tuesday to implement the new passenger vehicle tolls. Commercial trucks have been paying higher tolls since 2006.
The state's lease agreement with ITR Concession Co., which is run by a Spanish-Australian consortium, gave the firm until July to implement electronic tolling. The company debuted its i-Zoom system in Northwest Indiana late last
year and has been working to install electronic tolling on the rest of the east-west highway.
Indiana officials initially balked at extending the electronic toll discount to Illinois motorists. But they backed down last summer after Illinois tollway officials threatened to revoke I-Pass transponders owned by 90,000 Hoosiers.
Alvey said Indiana has paid ITR Concession Co. $52 million since July 2006 to underwrite the passenger vehicle discount, which until next month covers both electronic and cash tolls.
An i-Zoom costs $50, which includes a $10 deposit and $40 in prepaid tolls. The transponders can be ordered at www.getizoom.com or by calling (888) 496-6690.
Toll hikes take effect April 1
Drivers will need to buy an electronic transponder -- either an I-Pass or an i-Zoom -- to avoid Indiana Toll Road fare hikes that will take effect next month. Commuter discount cards also will expire March 31. Passenger vehicles that have a transponder will continue to pay current tolls until July 2016 while cash tolls will increase by an average of 72 percent. Some examples:
A trip from Illinois to Ohio -- 157 miles -- will increase from $4.65 to $8.
Getting on or off at the West Point Toll Plaza will increase from 50 cents to $1.25.
Entering or exiting the Toll Road at Calumet Avenue will go from 25
cents to $1.
Getting on in Portage and off at the Notre Dame exit in South Bend will
rise from $2 to $3.
