[FONT face=Arial size=5]Ind. Signs Lease for Toll Road, Gets Sued[/FONT] [FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2]
Thursday April 13, 2006 5:01 AM[/FONT] [FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2] AP Photo NY139 By MIKE SMITH Associated Press Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - In the biggest highway privatization deal in U.S. history, state officials Wednesday signed an agreement Wednesday to turn the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road over to a foreign consortium that will operate it for a profit for the next 75 years. Under the lease, Spanish-Australian consortium Cintra-Macquarie would pay the state $3.8 billion up front and be responsible for operating and maintaining the highway. It would get to keep the toll revenue it collects. Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels said the upfront payment would help pay for other transportation projects and create jobs. Opponents argued it violates the state constitution and have sued. They said the constitution requires that the proceeds from the sale of any public works be used to pay off state debt. The Daniels administration said the arrangement is not a sale but a lease. The state hopes to close the deal and transfer the highway to the consortium by June 30. The lease authorization passed in the Republican-controlled General Assembly by the bare minimum of votes. All but two Democrats opposed it, saying the state should not turn over a major asset to a private, foreign entity, and noting the consortium would reap billions of dollars through toll revenue and rate increases. A truckers' organization has already contributed $10,000 toward the legal challenge. Last year, Chicago became the first U.S. government entity to lease an existing toll road to private investors, turning over the 7.8-mile Chicago Skyway to the same Spanish-Australian consortium for 99 years in exchange for $1.83 billion. The Indiana Toll Road begins at the Skyway's eastern end and is Interstate 80/90 for most of its length. It cuts across the northern part of the state and is a major route between Chicago and cities such as Detroit and Cleveland. The tolls vary by size of vehicle and distance traveled. A typical car traveling the entire length now pays $4.65. The lease allows the consortium to raise rates beginning in 2010, but it limits the size of the increases.
[/FONT][!-- Overture Widget --]
