The Indiana general assembly’s group dedicated to finding long-term solutions for road and bridge funding in the state has issued a report determining that a combination of fuel taxes, road usage charges and ancillary fees is needed.
The Funding Indiana’s Roads for a Stronger Safer Tomorrow Task Force (FIRSST) has met five times this year, with the recommendations coming from its most recent meeting Dec. 19.
The FIRSST final report includes the following recommendations for the general assembly to adopt in 2017:
The task force also recommends the general assembly adopt legislation requiring Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT):
FIRSST recommends for this statistical model that INDOT should make the inputs to the model to reflect the “goals and metrics” the agency develops; incorporate funding and return on investment; update the model regularly due to the “evolving” needs of transportation; and use the model outputs as a guide rather than a “mandate” to allow the agency flexibility in addressing needs or “unexpected events” that might not be included in the model.
The task force’s final report is available here.
