STATEHOUSE – At the start of the 2014 session, House Speaker Brian C. Bosma (R-Indianapolis), joined by other House Republicans, unveiled the Working on Progress legislative agenda. One of these priority bills, House Bill (HB) 1002, was a joint effort between State Representatives Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso) and Chairman of Ways and Means Tim Brown (R-Crawfordsville) to connect crossroads to communities by improving Indiana’s transportation system. HB 1002 was approved on final passage with a vote of 95 to 4 in the Indiana House today.
“Our state has a sophisticated transportation system, with over half a trillion dollars of goods moving along our roads, highways and bridges each year, so in order to sustain and improve such a major investment to Indiana’s economy, it takes a coordinated effort and everybody working together. I am pleased that House Bill 1002 passed, and I appreciate the many discussions and bipartisanship that made improving Indiana’s transportation infrastructure a priority this session,” said Rep. Soliday.
The bill would allow the Budget Agency to transfer up to $400 million in the Major Moves 2020 Trust Fund, the first $200 million on July 1 of this year, to the Major Moves Construction Fund. Based on Dec.’s revenue forecast, the bill would allow an additional $200 million to be transferred for the same purpose.
Additionally, Congress passed a law that opens up federal dollars to support states’ various highway improvement initiatives. With the passing of HB 1002, Indiana could leverage over $1.6 billion in federal funds to support these construction projects. Currently, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has several high-value projects in mind which these additional dollars could go towards.
“This increase in available funding for state highways translates into thousands of jobs,” said Rep. Brown. “By making this money available to be used, we can leverage more than $1.6 billion in federal funding and get more Hoosiers to work. These are critical projects that maintain our distinguished reputation as the Crossroads of America.”
The costs to repair Indiana’s roads vary, according to INDOT, preliminary cost estimates for these projects average $9 million per centerline mile. Several key factors contribute to the cost of these projects like rehabilitation of existing pavement, interchange modifications and bridge replacement.
Visit www.in.gov/legislative for more information about HB 1002.
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