This article has been updated to reflect the State Budget Committee approval.
More frequent toll hikes may be in Hoosier commuters’ future as part of a renegotiation of the Indiana Toll Road lease ― one of several carrots in the financing package Indiana lawmakers approved to lure the Chicago Bears to Hammond ― per an Indiana Finance Authority resolution that state lawmakers approved on April 16.
Under this agreement, which by law was subject to review by the State Budget Committee, the Indiana Toll Road’s private operator will be able to implement toll increases twice a year, rather than once, in exchange for lump sums totaling $700 million that may be put toward infrastructure or transportation projects in the seven northern Indiana counties near the proposed stadium site.
The renegotiation of the lease had been underway for more than a year, before the Bears moving to Indiana was even a thought, state public finance director Jim McGoff told the state budget committee. But what lawmakers did during the legislative session was enable those funds freed up from a renegotiation of the lease to be directed toward infrastructure expenses in the toll road counties, and initially in Lake County, where the stadium would be.
This was just one element of the state law the General Assembly passed nearly unanimously to incentivize the Chicago Bears to choose Indiana for the NFL team’s next home. Senate Enrolled Act 27 also creates a northwest Indiana stadium authority, a special taxing district around the theoretical stadium, and a litany of hospitality taxes the local governments would need to approve.
The Indiana Toll Road stretches 157 miles across northern Indiana from border to border. From end to end, the tolls cost just over $16 for the passenger car driver or up to $100 for the largest trucks.
Under the toll road’s current agreement, toll increases of at least 2% are assessed once a year. The amended agreement the Indiana Finance Authority approved on April 14 would change that to twice a year at a rate of at least 1.5%, meaning 3% a year. In both cases, the increases are higher if the rate of inflation is higher than those thresholds.
In exchange, the toll road operator will pay the state $300 million within a month, another $200 million within a year and another $200 million within two years. This money will be put into a special reserve fund, which can then be used to reimburse those seven northern border counties for infrastructure projects over the next three years, per Senate Enrolled Act 27.
As part of the agreement, the Indiana Toll Road operator will make $25 million in upgrades over the next 5 years, including travel plaza expansions, overnight truck parking and traffic management technology.
If the Bears don’t come to Hammond, the $700 million will simply remain in the IFA’s reserve fund for the legislature to then decide what to do with, McGoff said.
Regardless, the state would share with the toll road operator in any revenues that come in above that $700 million.
“Even if it’s breakeven, the state comes out ahead,” McGoff said. “Essentially the concessionaire is taking a risk here.”
State Rep. Ed Delaney, D-Indianapolis, sees it as a form of tax increase that didn’t go through the full legislature.
“I’m deeply troubled by that, and I think the people who use the tolls are not going to be happy,” he said.
The seven counties that stand to benefit from the infrastructure investments ― Elkhart, LaGrange, Lake, LaPorte, Porter, Steuben and St. Joseph counties ― are connected to Hammond and the approximate proposed stadium site through the South Shore Line, a commuter train to and from Chicago, as well as the toll road.
Meanwhile, the Bears are still in talks with Illinois lawmakers about a financing deal that would keep the Bears in the originally planned Arlington Heights site. Those lawmakers are in session until the end of May.
Contact IndyStar Statehouse reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on X@kayla_dwyer17.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Chicago Bears deal could mean more toll road hikes in Indiana
Reporting by Kayla Dwyer, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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