Private infrastructure: Road to riches?
Source: By Jerry Knight, writer for the Washington Post, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (IN), Fri, Mar. 24, 2006
The leasing of the Indiana Toll Road is on the forefront of a trend in the U.S. of privatizing infrastructure. If somebody asked if you wanted to buy the Brooklyn Bridge, you’d know it was a con. But how about buying the Indiana Toll Road? Before you snicker, you should know the Indiana highway was auctioned off last week for $3.8 billion. …. Ducking tax increases is what motivated the state of Indiana and the city of Chicago to sell their toll roads. Indiana was facing a billion bill for updating its highway system when Gov. Mitch $10 Daniels, a former federal budget director, came up with an alternative to paying the price – tapping the Toll Road. …. Prudence would argue for going slowly, doing what amount to clinical trials of privatization before prescribing it as a cure for the ailments of America’s infrastructure. But bridges are crumbling, roads are jammed and the infrastructure privateers are standing at the door, checkbooks in hand.