Letter: The real cost of the Mid-States Corridor

As co-leader of the Coalition Against the Mid-States Corridor, I have closely examined statements and data presented by project proponents. The study’s extended timeline and unresolved discrepancies have raised serious questions about whether INDOT and the Lochmueller Study Group provide the public with complete, consistent, and transparent information.

On August 27th, the Indiana State Budget Review Committee asked INDOT Commissioner Lyndsay Quist to address questions about several agency activities and projects. During her presentation on the Mid-States Corridor and Senator Qaddoura’s follow-up questions, several concerning points stood out.

First, when asked about INDOT’s announcement last January that more than 300 projects would be canceled, delayed or scaled back due to funding constraints, Commissioner Quist responded that the list was dated to 2023 and that some of the projects had since been completed. This raises a question: if the list originated in 2023, why was it not shared with legislators then, and why was it first presented to legislators in January 2026?

Second, the Commissioner presented a slide showing that construction costs rose from $8.4 million per lane mile in 2015 to $46 million in 2026. After two legislators asked for clarification that $46 million was the cost for ONE lane for ONE mile, Commissioner Quist confirmed that fact. A four-lane highway would require multiplying the lane-mile cost by four. At those cost figures, the proposed four-lane Mid-States Corridor would cost about $184 million per roadway mile; nearly $10 billion for the full 54 miles. Why, then, is the project’s current estimate at $3.4 billion? It must be noted that INDOT’s $46 million per lane-mile cost estimate is for rehabilitation of existing roadways. Costs for new construction could be exponentially higher.

Third, Commissioner Quist confirmed that INDOT would not be able to meet their statutory requirements to maintain existing infrastructure, state highways and bridges due to lack of revenue by as early as 2032. Why, then, would anyone pursue the construction of a new four-lane highway that is not needed and not wanted?

Finally, when asked whether INDOT initiated the Mid-States Corridor, Commissioner Quist did not respond directly. However, she said the project emerged after the Regional Development Authority was formed to fund a study, indicating that INDOT did not originally initiate it as a needed infrastructure project.

This pattern reflects continued secrecy, manipulation, and a lack of public transparency in efforts to promote the project; not to mention utter fiscal irresponsibility.

The full budget committee meeting is available at https://www.in.gov/sba/budget-committee/archived-budget-committee-hearings/sba-indiana-state-budget-committee-august-27,-2026/

Mark Nowotarski
Dubois County