State transportation leaders are commending Governor Mike Braun for extending Indiana’s gas tax suspension through September 5, 2026, while issuing an urgent warning about the long-term future of the state’s roads and bridges.
Financial Turning Point
The tax suspension has temporarily reduced state road and bridge funding by approximately $533 million through July. While Governor Braun has pledged to backfill those missing funds, infrastructure advocates stress that temporary fixes will not cover upcoming long-term needs.
According to the Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP), local roads need $1.2 billion in new annual funding just to preserve current conditions, or $2 billion annually to make improvements. INDOT estimates state roads and bridges require an additional $1.2 billion annually.
Brian Gould, Executive Director of the Build Indiana Council, said, “We’d like to thank Governor Braun for his leadership in helping Hoosiers save money and his commitment to our state’s roads and bridges. We also appreciate his pledge to backfill funds lost due to the gas tax suspension. At the same time, Indiana must confront the reality that we are approaching a fiscal cliff in transportation infrastructure that threatens years of progress. We must continue to invest if we want to keep moving forward.”
Original reporting: 93.1 WIBC (Indianapolis) — read the source article.
