SOUTH BEND — For local engineers and contractors, the state’s “Next Level Roads Plan” is cause for relief and excitement — and perhaps a tinge of anxiety — after years of uncertainty surrounding public road funding in the state.
The plan, supported by a recent 10-cent increase in the state gas tax and new fees on electric and hybrid vehicles, calls for $5.1 billion in road and bridge improvements over the next five years, including $70.9 million in St. Joseph County.
That spells steady work for local engineers and contractors after years of diminishing revenue for state road projects due to increasingly stringent federal fuel efficiency standards, the growing popularity of electric and hybrid vehicles and changing driving habits.
At the same time, the sudden surge in investment is bound to put additional pressure on what is already a tight labor market in the county, with unemployment dipping below 3 percent in recent months.
The plan represents the largest statewide investment in transportation since Major Moves, which relied on upfront payments from the 75-year lease of the Indiana Toll Road to finance more than $3 billion in infrastructure improvements over 10 years, ending in 2015.
Unlike Major Moves, the new plan relies on sustainable, long-term funding sources.
“We never really came back from the recession — we struggled to utilize our assets, our plants and equipment — so we’re looking forward to this uptick in funding,” said Gene Yarkie, vice president of operations for Rieth-Riley, the area’s largest asphalt and concrete paving contractor.