It’s making more and more sense for frequent users of the Indiana Toll Road to get themselves an I-Zoom account.

At midnight tonight—Thursday, July 1—the Indiana Toll Road (ITR) concession will raise the toll for all two-axle motorists not equipped with electronic tolling devices by 0.5 cents per mile: from $8 for the entire 157-mile trip across the Toll Road to $8.80.

The toll for heavy vehicles, meanwhile, will increase by 2.4 cents per mile: from $32 for the whole trip to $35.20.

I-Zoom users, however, will see no increase at all and in fact their toll for the 157 miles remains unchanged since before ITR took over the management of the Toll Road: $4.65.

In fact, under the concession contract, motorists with I-Zoom and other electronic tolling devices will pay that same $4.65 through 2016.

All other motorists, though, can expect an annual increase in the toll every July 1 through the lifetime of the contract, ITR spokesperson Amber Scott told the Chesterton Tribune today.

Prior to the lease, Scott said, the State of Indiana had not increased tolls since 1985, so that by the time ITR was granted the concession “maintenance and the road had suffered.” Now—through 2081, when the lease expires—ITR is permitted an annual hike according to this formula: either 2 percent of the current toll or the year-over-year increase in the federal Gross Domestic Product, whichever is greater.

Scott said that the annual “catch-up” hikes are necessary to improve Toll Road infrastructure.

Posted 6/30/2010