Ball State researchers have been commissioned to study ways to boost economic development along the Indiana Toll Road.
Leigh Morris, the former mayor of La Porte and the current deputy commissioner for Toll Road Oversight, said the cost is about $100,000. The cost will be shared by the state, local communities, private companies and other groups along the 157-mile long Toll Road with a vested interest.
Morris said tollways in Illinois where growth has followed economic development strategies opened some eyes in Indiana.
“They’ve come up with some ways of doing it and we think we can the same thing here,’’ said Morris at a meeting Wednesday of the Indiana Toll Road Oversight Board at the Indiana Department of Transportation La Porte District headquarters.
The study could include recommendations, such as better marketing strategies and a recommendation for the type of businesses that would benefit most from lower traffic volumes, quicker travel times and other strengths of a toll road.
A proposed wastewater recycling project in Hammond could eventually create up to 600 jobs.
Early-round upsets of Kentucky and Kansas are hurting sales of Final Four tickets in Indianapolis.
Butler University is planning a $10 million renovation of the Hinkle Fieldhouse.