Indiana’s Application Details Need, Plan for I-70 Tolls
Gov. Mike Braun’s administration has proposed charging $15.60 in tolls to drive a car across Indiana on Interstate 70 in order to pay for widening all of that highway to six lanes.
The state’s application seeking federal approval for I-70 tolling and outlining $6.5 billion in improvements was released Monday by Braun’s office after a public records request by the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
The prospect of additional tolling is likely to face public controversy but Braun and some Republican legislators have said they see no alternative if the state is going to take on such big-ticket projects.
Drivers would face paying I-70 tolls starting in early 2029, with the highway upgrades being done over eight to 10 years, according to the application to the Federal Highway Administration dated Sept. 8, 2025.
“Reconstructing and rehabilitating I-70 for the current and future needs of both Indiana’s and the nation’s industrial and manufacturing base is critically necessary,” the application said. “This analysis demonstrates that the facility cannot be improved to meet current and future needs of Hoosiers, interstate travelers and businesses that rely on this asset without toll revenues.”
The state’s application proposes a toll rate of 10 cents per mile for passenger vehicles such as cars and SUVs. A proposed rate of 54 cents per mile for semi-trailers would have those face an $84.24 charge for driving the full 156 miles of I-70 across Indiana.
Those proposed rates are consistent with what is currently charged on the Indiana Toll Road across the state’s northern tier.
- Click here to view the state’s application
Indiana officials announced earlier this year that they were seeking approval for I-70 tolling under the federal Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program. But they had previously released no details about the application to the program that permits up to three states to start interstate highway tolls to pay for road improvements they could not otherwise afford.
No timeline set for tolling decision
No timeline is specified by the Federal Highway Administration for an answer on the state’s request.
Braun’s office told the Capital Chronicle on Monday that “we have not had an official answer yet.”
The Federal Highway Administration’s public affairs office did not immediately respond Monday to questions about the application’s status.
The waiver request was submitted after legislators last year gave the governor the authority to request tolling permission for any interstate highway in the state.
When asked by reporters last summer about the possibility of more highway tolling, Braun replied, “You’re sticking your head in the sand if you don’t have it available as an option.”
Braun said the state’s ability to take on major highway projects was “not there in terms of our current cash flow.”
State says I-70 widening not “realistic” without tolls
The state’s application says all 156 miles of I-70 originally opened in the 1960s as a four-lane highway. Since then, 37 miles have been widened to six or more lanes and work is underway to widen an additional seven miles.
Projects widening the highway’s remaining 112 miles to at least six lanes and other upgrades would cost about $5.4 billion in 2025 dollars, according to the application. Adding inflation and bonding costs for construction during 2028-2035 would boost that to $6.5 billion.
The application cites Indiana Department of Transportation reports showing stagnant growth in federal highway funding and revenue from the state’s gas tax that it says won’t go beyond paying for road maintenance and some safety improvements.
“If INDOT is limited to this level of investment, it will take INDOT 89 years to reconstruct and widen all 112 miles of the four-lane sections of I-70,” the document said. “Alternatively, a scenario in which INDOT reconstructs I-70 using only existing revenue would require INDOT to postpone all other projects in the state for three years. Neither of these scenarios is realistic.”
Indiana House Roads and Transportation Committee Chair Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie, said states throughout the country are struggling with gas-tax revenue that isn’t keeping up with rising highway construction costs.
“It’s keeping up with where we can somewhat do preventive maintenance, we can do repairs, we can do some safety improvement projects,” Pressel told the Capital Chronicle. “But the reality is, if you want six lanes (for I-70), border to border, we don’t have the revenue to support that.”
He said he has asked state highway officials for updates on the tolling application.
“They’re all telling me the same thing,” Pressel said, “‘we’re confident, but we haven’t heard anything.’”
