FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 9 Jan. 2006 CONTACTS: *Thomas Tokarski… Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads…………..(812) 825-9555 *John Smith…………Count Us!……………………………………… (812) 327-6142 *Tim Maloney………Hoosier Environmental Council……………… (317) 685-8800 *Pat Andrews……… Marion Co. Alliance of Neighborhood Assocs….(317) 856-3341 *Andy Ruff…………Bloomington City Council……………………… (812) 334-2160 GOVERNOR DANIELS’ JOB CREATION CLAIMS FOR “MAJOR MOVES” ARE UNSUPPORTED BY CURRENT DATA. In a series of promotional meetings around the state, Governor Daniels has claimed that his Major Moves highway plan would create 50,000 jobs for every $1 billion spent on transportation infrastructure. However, the support for this number is undocumented, out-of-date and conflicts with other studies. The Major Moves budget shows an expenditure of $10.6 billion over the next ten years. According to Governor Daniels that would create more jobs than the existing total labor force of the Fort Wayne, Evansville and South Bend-Mishawaka metropolitan areas combined! (labor force data from “Stats Indiana”) No one should take these job predictions seriously. In addition, Governor Daniels does not say over what period of time he expects those jobs to come. Nor does he say what type of jobs they would be. Several billion dollars have been spent on interstates in Indiana. It is now fourth in the nation in non-urban interstate miles. Indianapolis has more interstate highway connections than any other city in the nation. Yet, Indiana still has a higher unemployment rate than the nation as a whole. Privatizing highways and increasing the number of toll roads will not lead to an economic boom for Indiana. According to an Administration spokesman, the Governor’s wildly optimistic claim comes from a report issued by the Federal Highway Administration that uses data from 1950-1989. (“Summary: Economic Impacts of Federal-Aid Highway Investment”. USDOT, FHWA) No citation is given in this document as to the source of the jobs number or to the study that produced it. It certainly does not pertain to toll roads. More recent studies conflict with the earlier report used by Governor Daniels and INDOT. A study by Emily Manetta published in 2000: “I-73 Weighing the Costs, an examination of highway economic analysis and its application to the I-73 project” reviews data presented by the Congressional Budget Office, an internal review by the FHWA and a review essay on infrastructure investment published in the Journal of Economic Literature by economist Edward Gramlich who, at the time, was a member of the Federal Reserve Board. In her analysis Manetta states: “It is clear from Figure 3.2.1 that highway investment demonstrated a high rate of return (Average Annual Rates of Return to Investment of Highway Capital) in the 1950s and 1960s, during the first decades of the IHS. Since the completion of the IHS, however, the rate of return has precipitously and continuously declined.” She continues: “While maintenance of existing highway infrastructure nets a very high 35% rate of return, urban construction produces less than half that. Upgrading below minimum sections of highway is still lower, and the lowest of all is new rural construction, whose rate of return is listed as negligible and could possibly be negative.” She continues: “According to both the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) and the FHWA, maintenance of existing highways is more efficient and brings more economic development than any form of new construction. In addition, rural construction is the least efficient type of construction, meaning that the most money is spent resulting in the least economic gain, and possibly even economic loss.” http://www.i69tour.org/I-73_cost_weighing.pdf Note: Our organizations have for years been advocating for the repairing and upgrading of existing roads as an alternative to the proposed new terrain I-69. Other, more site specific data, also conflict with Governor Daniels’ job figures. The Final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed I-69 extension through SW Indiana, published in December, 2003, could only approximate 4,600 jobs spread out over 20 years for that project. This study was carried out by INDOT and approved by the FHWA. Every attempt was used to inflate the job numbers for this study but this is the best they could come up with. The cost of that project is estimated to be nearly $2 billion. (see “I-69 Evansville to Indianapolis, Indiana, Tier 1, FEIS, page 3-50. Table 3-25) Andy Ruff, Bloomington City Council, states: “If the rest of Governor Daniel’s and INDOT’s numbers promoting Major Moves are as suspect as his jobs numbers, than Major Moves is leading Indiana to a Major Disaster.” GOVERNOR DANIELS’ TOLLING AND PRIVATIZATION SCHEMES ARE RADICAL, RISKY AND IRRESPONSIBLE. With their Major Moves scheme, Governor Daniels and INDOT are proposing a radical and risky shift in the way highways are funded in Indiana. Their proposal involves contracting a long-term lease on the Indiana Toll Road, most likely to a private, foreign consortium and making the proposed I-69 project a toll road with a private corporation. Once again, this proposal flies in the face of INDOT’s own studies. The FEIS for the I-69 project states: “ “Some of the previous proposals were studied as toll roads. These proposals were not recommended because the road would not be financially feasible as a toll road.” (I-69 Final Environmental Impact Statement, Tier I, Evansville to Indianapolis, Chapter 1, page 1-1, Dec. 2003.) Governor Daniels is asking the legislature,to change state laws to include: *Providing authority for INDOT to enter into an agreement with a private entity to do some or all of the development, financing, design, construction and maintenance of a toll facility. * Granting the ability for a private entity to collect and retain tolls. * Ability to award construction contracts other than by lowest bid.” (see:”Major Moves” p. 43) It is clear from these suggested changes and by public statements by Governor Daniels and INDOT Commissioner Tom Sharp that these initiatives are just the beginning of a long term plan to privatize and toll other roads in Indiana. John Smith of COUNT US! states: “Selling (by 50-100 year leases) our transportation corridors to foreign investors is plain un-American! This is a Major, Major, Major Mistake.” The Governor has challenged those who oppose his Major Moves plan to come up with other alternatives for funding transportation in Indiana. Unfortunately, no one can do that until they have an honest, realistic assessment of the problem. The Governor’s assessment of INDOT’s finances and funding sources are vague and incomplete. He has also asked what projects should be cut if his Major Moves is rejected. One project that could be cut is the proposed new terrain I-69 extension. If this project, with an estimated cost of at least $2 billion, were cut there would be no need to lease or sell the Indiana Toll Road to a private, foreign consortium. Those tolls could remain within Indiana. If it is sold or leased the tolls will be sent to some other part of the world. “Governor Daniels wants to use eminent domain to take homes from hard-working Hoosier families so a foreign company can turn a profit by tolling even more hard-working Hoosier who are just trying to get to work.” said Pat Andrews, Vice President of the Marion County Alliance of Neighborhood Associations. “That’s a great economic development idea……for Australia or Spain.” “Even if the toll road lease is approved and Indiana receives a substantial payout from the lease, the new-terrrain I-69 is the wrong place to invest these funds. More than a billion dollars could be saved and major environmental damage avoided if the state used I-70 and US-41 for the I-69 highway” said Tim Maloney of the Hoosier Environmental Council. “The Governor wants the legislature to hurry up and approve his highway plans without adequate public input or study. What that amounts to is a clever seduction that could easily lead to a major move into potholes for our highways and our tax dollars” , stated Thomas Tokarski, president of CARR. He continues: “We need vigorous public and legislative debate on these issues. It is reckless for the state to be selling off our income producing assets for a one-time chunk of money. The Governor’s Major Moves plan raises major questions that need real world answers not unrealistic, slight-of-hand speculation.” # # # Also A Glossary of Major Moves Terms: http://www.i69tour.org/glossary.html Daniels answer to our open door act request for his documentation of a claimed 100,000 jobs with passage of Major Moves: http://www.i69tour.org/100k_jobs.html |
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