http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/indiana-toll-road-operator-weighs-bankruptcy-sale/article_a0ddecd7-ce7a-5449-88a1-2baf0f7e1f76.htmlHammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. has been a vocal critic of the Toll Road lease, which he said exploits Northwest Indiana.
"It's
not fair that only Northern Indiana is paying the tolls,
when the money's being used to build bridges over the Ohio River or interchanges in Indianapolis," he said. "It's not fair when all of the burden is being felt up here."
The lease calls for annual toll increases, which now amounts to a total $10 for a car that travels all the way from the Chicago Skyway to the Ohio Turnpike. A new operator would have an incentive to improve the Toll Roads' balance sheet, possibly by cutting back on maintenance or repair projects, McDermott said.
The Toll Road is already in questionable shape in places, such as the functionally obsolete interchange in Lake Station, McDermott said.