Privatized roads may hurt states when it comes to federal funding

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is going public about how Congress plans on dealing with private investment in the future.

The Senate’s version of the next federal highway bill, a two-year measure, would remove privatized highways from the formula used to distribute highway funds to states. It would cost Indiana, which leased the Indiana Toll Road back in 2006, $42 million a year in federal funding for road and bridgework.

Daniels was in Washington on May 31 to meet with members of the House of Representatives and dispute the move.

“This is a state that gets screwed every year anyway [on federal highway funding]. Now they’d reduce it further,” said Daniels.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said Indiana should not have the opportunity to double-dip. He argued that Daniels sold the road for $3.8 billion and is still received federal funds to maintain the 157-mile highway.

Daniels countered with the fact that Indiana collected toll money from motorists and received money from the feds for years and nobody had a problem with it.