EVANSVILLE, Indiana (May 17, 2006) ? Indiana will shatter records for transportation investment in fiscal 2007 with planned $826 million spending on roads, bridges and highways projects, under Governor Mitch Daniels? Major Moves program. That amount will grow by double digit increases every year for the next nine years, with annual spending reaching nearly $1.5 billion in 2015, about twice the previous record year.

The state will invest nearly $12 billion on hundreds of new road construction, preservation, resurfacing and other local projects. New construction spending will quadruple, from $213 million in the fiscal year (FY) that ends in June, to $874 million in FY 2015.

With Major Moves funding, vital projects across Indiana that previously were delayed or had little hope of ever being built are now funded and moving forward quickly. Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) project planners have identified efficiencies and condensed schedules wherever possible. More than 70 years of acceleration will occur as projects such as U.S. 31, U.S. 231 and the Hoosier Heartland will be completed years ahead of any previous schedule.

?This is the biggest roads and jobs plan in the state?s history, and we?ll do it all without increasing the gas tax,? said Daniels. ?Every state we know of has a huge transportation shortfall, but only Indiana has tackled it this boldly and successfully.?

In southwest Indiana, I-69 from Evansville to Indianapolis is scheduled to begin in 2008. The state?s budget for the project over the next 10 years includes $700 million. Originally, I-69 was scheduled to begin in 2017 and finish in 2027, but INDOT is accelerating the project to begin construction in 2008, with completion in 2018.

Also in southwestern Indiana, there are two US 231 projects. The first, from State Road 66 in Spencer County to I-64 in Dubois County, is scheduled to be underway this year and be completed in 2012. Projected cost is $110 million. The second is the Huntingburg/Jasper Bypass, which is projected to begin in 2014 and be finished in 2018, at a cost of $190 million.

Total planned spending in INDOT?s southwest district is projected to be $893 million in new construction and $284 million in major preservation projects.

In west central Indiana, new construction projects total $546.5 million and major preservation, $516.3 million. That includes the SR 641 bypass in Terre Haute, a $149 million project, which will get underway in 2006 and be completed in 2014.

In Northwest Indiana, $1.07 billion in new construction is planned through FY 2015 and $430 million in major preservation. That includes a $187 million interchange at I-65 and I-80 in Lake County and a new interchange on I-65 at 109th Street ($20 million).

Among some of the other top construction projects in the northern part of the state that will be started or completed in coming years is the Hoosier Heartland through Tippecanoe, Carroll and Cass counties, at a cost of $342 million. According to original projections, the project was to start in 2011 with completion in 2020. With Major Moves, the project will get underway in 2010 and is scheduled to be done in 2014.

The long-sought limited access U.S. 31 also is scheduled: the portion in St. Joseph and Marshall counties, with an estimated price tag of $418 million, is scheduled to be underway in 2008; the Kokomo bypass, with estimated costs of $344 million, is scheduled to start in 2009, and work in Hamilton and Marion counties, with an estimated cost of $497 million is projected to begin in 2011.

In northeast Indiana, the state will invest $440 million over the next 10 years in new construction projects, including $124 million on US 24 from I-469 to the Ohio state line, better known as Fort to Port, beginning in 2008; $35.6 million on US 33 projects in Elkhart County; and nearly $26 million on State Road 8 in DeKalb County. The state also will invest more than $278 million in major preservation projects (major preservation projects include replacing or reconstructing existing highways, adding median turn lanes, and some modernization projects that do not add new lanes.)

In southeastern Indiana, nearly $1.2 billion in new construction spending and $364 million in major preservation are planned. Two major projects include two Ohio River bridges in Clark County. The state?s plan includes nearly $350 million for a new east end bridge near Utica, on I-265, and $ 323.8 million for a new bridge on I-65 over the Ohio River.

Also in southeastern Indiana, INDOT will commence work this fall on a new bridge over the Ohio River in Madison. Before Major Moves, the Madison-Milton bridge was not part of INDOT's 10-year plan. Kentucky transportation officials also have committed to begin necessary planning for the bridge.

?The bridge in Madison is one of many examples of projects that wouldn?t have happened at all without the additional funds Major Moves brings to our state,? said the governor.

In INDOT?s east central region, new construction will total $2.3 billion and major preservation, $869 million. This includes two projects on I-465 on the west and north sides of Indianapolis with a total cost of more than $975 million. Both projects will help relieve construction at the intersection of I-69 on the northeast corner of the I-465 loop.

The west leg of the project was scheduled to begin in 2009 and finish in 2015, and now is projected to start in 2007 and finish in 2013; the north leg is slated to begin in 2012 and be completed in 2016 (original start 2013 and finish 2016).

?Major Moves will put tens of thousands of people to work and directly give the state a unique competitive edge for jobs over the long term,? said Daniels.

The updated $11.8 billion plan reflects updated project cost estimates and an annual inflation rate of 3.5 percent.

The Major Moves program includes $3.8 billion in proceeds from a 75-year lease of the Indiana Toll Road, plus an estimated $700 million to $900 million in interest. The state is working toward closure of the lease on June 30, when the fund transfer is scheduled to occur. Proceeds will be used for new construction as well as distribution to counties and communities in the seven Toll Road counties. The state will also use $5.3 billion in preservation funding and $2.5 billion in new construction funding that already is a part of INDOT?s budget.

On Thursday, INDOT will release the complete year-by-year list of projects for FY2006 through FY 2015.

Additional media contact:
Gary Abell, INDOT, 317/233-4675, gabell@indot.in.gov