Holcomb Won’t Pursue New Tolling On Indiana Highways

Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Thursday he won’t move forward with a plan to toll Indiana’s interstate highways.

The comprehensive 2017 road funding bill required a study of tolling.

The results suggest tolls on major highways could help ensure long-term, sustainable road funding – especially as current revenues from gas taxes begin to decline, likely within the next decade.

But the study also says such a system would be complicated and take a long time to set up – at least four years to collect the first toll and decades to fully flesh out a statewide system.

Governor Holcomb says Indiana’s current road needs are adequately funded by that 2017 bill. And he says while he won’t pursue tolling, he had the Department of Transportation create a strategic plan for future leaders to consider.

That plan focuses on open road tolling – meaning no toll booths. And it centers on I-65, I-70, and I-94. The plan estimates tolls could eventually generate around $1 billion a year.