Guv prioritizes MSC while locals, lawmakers question financing
Conversations on the Mid-States Corridor highway project proposed in Southern Indiana continue to get increasingly interesting – and louder – as Governor Mike Braun (R) wants to press forward on the project that would pass through his hometown of Jasper, even with local opposition and state legislator hesitation appearing to be growing.
Your favorite transportation newsletter probed the Governor about MSC in his one-on-one interview with Hannah News Service last month. He described the project as long overdue, mentioning that then-Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) canceled it years ago, originally to pay for the I-69 expansion.
As for paying for it, the incumbent governor he indicated that the state is willing to cover the cost . . . which is estimated at more than $1 billion at this point.
“The unique thing is, we’re going to be willing to pay for it, and it’s not one that’s come out of the blue. I really view it as something that should have been done 20 years ago,” Governor Braun laments. “And the corridor part of it is a broader thinking, but the part that is the most important arc of it would be … if you’ve ever been to our town, but it’s the most industrial place per capita in the state.”
The project, as frequent readers of this newsletter know by now, is intended to link S.R. 66 near the William H. Natcher Bridge with I-69 through Southern Indiana, primarily affecting Governor Braun’s home turf of Jasper in Dubois County. The corridor would span 54 miles, connecting I-64 near Dale to I-69 at the U.S. 231 interchange in Martin County.
We reported in November on the growing local concerns over financing the project, as elected officials in Dubois County are hesitant to shell out the 10% local match, which could be as much as $135 million now. We also told you at the time that, despite that, the Indiana Department of Transportation plans to press on, with or without a local match, because the Governor has made the project a priority for his administration – an intention he doubled down on in his interview with us in December.
The questions about how exactly the finances will come together aren’t just in Dubois County. At the State House, on the Third Floor, Republican legislators responsible for drafting transportation and road policies are skeptical as well. The topic was brought up during the first meeting of the House Committee on Roads and Transportation in this legislative session . . . and it may set the tone for how conversations continue regarding MSC.
During the Monday House committee meeting where INDOT presented project updates, Chair Jim Pressel (R) pressed INDOT Legislative Director Aaron Wainscott about the Mid-States Corridor project and where the agency expected to come up with the money. Wainscott revealed that the latest estimate he has been given for at least the first section of the project is around $1.08 billion. Of note, that price tag does not include costs for right-of-way and land acquisition.
Noting construction could start as early as next year, Chair Pressel queried, “Where are we going to get a billion dollars to pay for that?”
Wainscott responded, “I think it would be fair to say that we would have to utilize a variety of funding mechanisms, whether it be state dollars, federal dollars, grant dollars.”
Rep. Pressel pointed out that the General Assembly cannot “kill” state road projects, but expressed he has deep concerns about spending more than $1 billion on a new roadway when INDOT continues to postpone and cancel other projects for existing roadways.
During the same meeting, Wainscott shared that INDOT has postponed more than 300 projects within the last 18 months due to funding not playing out as expected. One such project was a major interchange improvement northwest of Indianapolis on I-65 and I-465 near Whitestown, but funding constraints forced the agency to split the work supporting the area’s growing logistics hub into roughly three separate projects that will be completed in stages rather than all at once.
“We’ve canceled over 300 projects in the last year and a half, but we’re going to spend a billion dollars on a brand new roadway,” Rep. Pressel asserted. “I’m not getting it.”
Chair Pressel then asked Wainscott get back to him with more clarity on INDOT’s plans because he wants “to have those conversations.” He pressed, “I’m really looking for some guidance on how we’re doing this, but yet we’re killing other projects.”
Rep. Ed Soliday (R) of Valparaiso, a former chair of the committee, chimed in as well in agreement, pointing out that for several years now, the state has had an “operating bias” in which Soliday explained, “First of all, we take care of what we’ve got. Then we finish what we’ve started, and then we build for the future.”
Rep. Soliday questioned, “If we’ve changed that, it would be good to know then, how are we prioritizing projects? Because I think back to 2017, I think we did instruct in that to have clear priority, data-driven priority lists so that we didn’t politicize road building.”
Support for MSC seems to be dwindling among the local residents in Dubois County, not just among the elected officials who are unsure about the steep matching price.
A poll released in December, conducted by Public Policy Polling for the Property Rights Alliance and the Stop the Mid-States Corridor Coalition, shows overwhelming opposition to the project.
According to the poll of Dubois County registered voters, 81% of respondents opposed the project, with 72% strongly opposed. The results contrast with comments from the state that suggest feedback is generally positive from the region.
Jasper City Council President Philip Mundy (R) affirmed the numbers align with what he has heard directly from residents over the past several months, describing near-universal opposition in constituent calls and messages, WFIE-TV in Evansville reports.
As for how the Governor is faring back in his hometown, that same poll suggests Gov. Braun is facing unusually weak approval numbers in Dubois County. Public Policy Polling is a well-respected national firm that largely polls for Democrats (and was effectively spot-on in the November New York City mayoral race ).
The results from the survey of 636 registered Dubois County voters (12/16-17; 54% R, 18% D, 28% I; 53% female, 46% male; margin of error ± 2.6% to 3.2% depending upon the question), finds Gov. Braun with 16% approval, 62% disapproval, and 23% unsure. The data also shows a pronounced gender gap. Among women, the Governor’s approval was 10% approve, 66% disapprove, and 24% unsure. Among men, approval was higher but still negative overall at 23% approve, 56% disapprove, and 21% unsure.
Our Hannah News Service sister newsletter INDIANA LEGISLATIVE INSIGHT takes a deep dive into the Braun crosstabs this week.
Could those local numbers be a result of the position Braun is taking for MSC, despite dwindling support from residents and local elected officials? We cannot speculate for sure, but Gov. Braun encountering significant local resistance within his first year in office, even in his home turf, an area where a sitting governor would typically expect strong support, brings that into question.
The Governor, however, shares with us that he has not personally felt resistance in his hometown relating to the Mid-States project. He contends there is a silent majority who want the new interstate in the region. He suggests that the loudest voices are what are swaying the local governments to potentially back out of matching.
“The loudest have impacted, I think the government entities, so how much they’ll be a part of it … They were part of the first environmental impact study that got us on the map of consideration,” Gov. Braun describes.
He adds, “And now the rest of it, to me, is just getting the only project that was canceled – Mitch Daniels did it. I understand why – just getting it back on the docket.”
We told you in our last issue that the local opinion has likely shifted over time as the project evolved. The Dubois County Free Press reported that members of the Dubois County Council explained they supported the initial Tier 1 study in 2018 to explore upgrades to U.S. 231, but argued the current version of the corridor differs substantially from what was studied. They cited concerns about emergency-service response times, traffic impacts, and the absence of an S.R. 164 overpass.
Local officials still acknowledge, though, that some residents and businesses see benefits, particularly for rerouting heavy truck traffic through Jasper, but most contend the fiscal risk remains too high.
The background to getting to where we are now in the process is key to note, the Governor pointed out to us. In the General Assembly, then-Rep. Braun and then-Sen. Mark Messmer (R), also from Jasper, in 2017 shepherded the legislation to create the Mid-States Corridor Regional Development Authority. At the time of its creation, the Governor explains local support in the region for a highway corridor was high. Support for locals paying for it was also there.
“It was the infrastructure project that is, kind of under the umbrella of a new concept of where the people wanting a regional infrastructure project are willing to pay for part of it. No one generally ever wants to do that,” the Governor tells us. He adds, recalling a conversation with Rep. Soliday, who chaired the House Committee on Roads and Transportation at the time, “He said, everybody wants a road through their county or an approved something. Said once you figure out how, you come up with an innovative way to pay for it.”
Back in 2017, Dubois County, Spencer County, Jasper, and Huntingburg all approved participation that year, allowing public and private fundraising of about $7 million to complete the Tier 1 corridor study. That study advanced the project to the Tier 2 environmental study now underway.
The Mid-States RDA is set to expire in May this year, and now the Dubois County Council is currently weighing whether it will renew its membership with the RDA, or at least clarify that it no longer will make financial commitments.
The Dubois County Free Press reports that representatives of the RDA appeared before the Dubois County Council to defend the authority’s work and ask the county to remain a member as the RDA approaches its eight-year statutory expiration.
After the presentation, RDA legal counsel Bill Kaiser criticized the survey showing strong local opposition to the project, questioning whether the small sample size and outreach methods skewed results toward opponents. Project opponents defended the poll’s methodology during public comment, arguing it was statistically valid and showed overwhelming opposition.
The council questioned the RDA’s broader statutory powers, and Kaiser said that while the authority’s development plan allows broad infrastructure activities, the RDA has taken no action beyond the corridor project. He confirmed Dubois County has no financial obligations beyond the original $1.75 million contribution approved in 2018 and said no additional funding requests are planned.
The council took no action on withdrawing from or renewing membership, citing uncertainty about statutory deadlines and the renewal process. Members stated they need more time to review the information and indicated any continued participation would include language limiting county financial liability. The council is expected to revisit the issue at its January 21 meeting.
As the Mid-States Corridor begins to move into its next phase within the next year, continue to look for how these conversations evolve, especially with a governor determined to resurrect a project he views as unfinished business that is now colliding with skeptical state lawmakers, strained transportation budgets, and mounting resistance not only from social conservative commentators concerned about the project bottom line and its benefits to a few, but also in the very communities the highway is meant to serve.