What the law says:
INDOT's report must include
(1) A description of the need for an Illiana expressway.
(2) An evaluation concerning the feasibility of an Illiana expressway, including the following:
(A) Projections for acquisition costs and eminent domain issues.
(B) Expected use of the proposed expressway and any toll revenues. (C) Expected construction costs.
(D) Expected operating and maintenance costs.
(E) Options for funding acquisition, construction, operation, and maintenance costs.
(3) A description of the department's recommended route for an Illiana expressway, including the following:
(A) Traffic projections showing expected use and relief of traffic congestion.
(B) Alternative routes.
(C) Economic impact studies on the proposed route and affected areas.
What INDOT asked consultants vying to conduct the study to consider:
1. Should the Illiana Expressway be developed?
2. Can it be constructed and placed into used and useful service?
3. Can it be financed in its entirety as a tolled, public private partnership with
no capital contribution required of the State of Indiana? It is anticipated that no
federal funding will be used during any phase of the development.
INDIANAPOLIS | The Indiana Department of Transportation offered few details Friday about an pending Illiana Expressway study that has come under fire from state Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso.
And Soliday says he is willing to take the agency to court. He argues INDOT is violating state law by pursuing a feasibility study of the proposed highway that would examine only one financing option -- the private tollway model championed by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels.
INDOT was scheduled to choose Friday between three firms vying to perform the study of the Illiana Expressway, which would connect Interstate 57 in Illinois with Interstate 65 in Lake County. But it's not clear whether a decision was made -- INDOT did not return repeated phone calls.
Daniels addressed the issue Friday before departing the Statehouse for a motorcycle tour of southern Indiana, saying he doesn't believe INDOT intended to violate the Illiana study legislation -- Senate Bill 105 -- he signed into law in May..
"They may have misconstrued it," the governor said of INDOT. "I did see (Soliday's) letter yesterday and I told them: 'Take a real quick look and let's find out.' If it needs to be broadened, it should."
Soliday expressed his concerns to state Transportation Commissioner Karl Browning in a letter on Monday, and went public with his complaints after being frustrated by INDOT's response. Soliday said he worries an initial Illiana study slanted toward a private-run tollway would poison public support for the road.
The request for proposals INDOT put out in June appears to heavily favor the so-called public-private partnership highway model. The agency sought to diffuse that concern Friday by releasing a Q & A form that informed prospective consultants "INDOT is intending to determine the overall feasibility of developing the Illiana Expressway as a tolled facility, minimizing or entirely eliminating the need for state funding contributions."
The disclosure further angered Soliday, who said he is prepared to pursue legal opinions from the state inspector general and the attorney general, as well as a potential lawsuit.
"That's very nice of (INDOT) to decide that," Soliday said. "However, there's a law. Laws are things that are voted on by the House and Senate and they're signed by the governor. And complying with those laws is not optional.'
This General Assembly approved legislation this spring giving the Indiana Department of Transportation two years to conduct a feasibility study of the proposed Illiana Expressway, which would connect Interstate 57 in Illinois with Interstate 65 in Lake County.
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