Braun on I-70 Tolls: "It's Going To Be A Longtime Down the Road"

Hoosiers have expressed concern about the possibility of toll roads being added to major highways after a proposal to rebuild Interstate 70 was announced last month.

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is seeking to toll the entire I-70 corridor in Indiana, which spans roughly 156 miles from the Illinois state line to the Ohio border. Gov. Mike Braun said on The Hammer and Nigel Show that I-70 is the only roadway under consideration for tolling.

“Tolling is not going to happen anywhere other than a consideration of 70. That’s because 70 currently uses $170 million to keep it in the shape it is, which is not good… we have more usage on that stretch than almost any other roads in the country.”

Braun explained that if the state does not begin using a “user fee” model, it will face increasing difficulty maintaining heavily traveled roadways. He noted that about half of the drivers on I-70 are from out of state and often do not stop in Indiana to buy fuel or otherwise contribute to the local economy. A toll system, he said, would ensure those drivers help pay for the road’s upkeep.

Under the current proposal, toll rates are estimated at about 10 cents per mile for passenger vehicles and 54 cents per mile for large trucks. Instead of traditional toll booths, the plan would use open-road tolling with overhead cameras to charge drivers electronically.

If the plan receives federal approval, state planning documents indicate toll collection could begin around 2029, with reconstruction of the interstate expected to take eight to ten years.

Listeners can hear the full conversation with Gov. Braun, including discussion of tolling and other key state issues, here: