Indy Councillor To Propose Road Funding Commission

A member of the Indianapolis City-County Council will propose a commission to work on a long-term infrastructure funding plan.

Councillor Jared Evans says, despite the recent move to allocate emergency money towards road repair, city leaders on both sides of the political spectrum have repeatedly ignored the underlying problem.

Evans says the city should spend an estimated $180 million a year to maintain its roads.

“I mean how did we go so long without addressing this issue? When you’re already at $180 million, and we’re down here at $80, $60 million worth of spending, there’s a huge gap," Evans says. "Something went wrong for many years.”

If the commission is created, its members will try to determine the cause of the problem and build towards a plan for increased state support. Evans also says the state-approved gas tax, which boosted funds for infrastructure, doesn’t distribute funds fairly and hopes a new system could be created.

The group would include citizens, city councilors, and members of the State Senate and House of Representatives.

Evans will propose the commission at a City-County Council meeting in April.