Highways
Indiana Toll Road Operator Picks HW Lochner for Next Phase of Rehab Project
The Indiana Toll Road crosses the northern part of the state from the Ohio state line to the Indiana state line. Its operator is in the midst of a multiphase plan to rehabilitation and upgrade sections of it.
Photo courtesy of H.W. Lochner Inc.
Indiana Toll Road Concession Co. is planning a fourth phase of its Pavement Upgrade for a Superior Highway project. The toll road operator once again selected H.W. Lochner Inc. to serve as its owner representative for the project, the contractor announced Jan. 11.
This upcoming phase of the project involves rehabilitation of a 34-mile stretch of the highway near the Ohio border. The scope includes rehabilitating and widening 26 bridge decks. In a 2021 report to state lawmakers, Indiana Toll Road Concession Co. (ITRCC) projected the cost of the fourth and fifth phases at $150 million combined. Phase five is planned for about 10 miles near the Illinois border.
Lochner was previously ITR CC’s owner representative for the ITR Concession Co. on the first three phases of the Pavement Upgrade for a Superior Highway (PUSH) project, providing program manager, design oversight and construction oversight. Those phases of work, valued at close to $400 million, included rehabilitation of 113 miles of the highway, installation of fiber optic cable, interchange improvements and rehabilitation of 85 bridges.
Under a concessionaire contract with the state, ITRCC is the private operator of the highway, which is also part of Interstate 90. It runs 157 miles across northern Indiana from the Ohio Turnpike to the Chicago Skyway.
ITRCC is owned by Australia-based IFM Investors, which took over a new $5.7-billion, 66-year lease concession of the highway in 2015. ITRCC faced financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy under its previous ownership. The company is responsible for all construction, repairs and maintenance of the road.
PUSH phase four construction is scheduled to start in 2025.
