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INDOT explains Community Crossings changes under HEA 1461; lawmakers debate wheel‑tax rules and lane‑mile distributions
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Summary
INDOT briefed the committee on changes to the Community Crossings matching grant fund under HEA 1461, including a $100 million cap and a reduced maximum grant size; legislators questioned whether local wheel taxes are required and how lane‑mile distributions will work, with INDOT clarifying no wheel‑tax adoption is mandatory.
Aaron Wainscott of INDOT walked lawmakers through changes to the Community Crossings matching grant fund under House Enrolled Act 1461. "Now has a $100,000,000 cap on the total amount of community crossings matching grants that we are able to distribute over the course of a fiscal year," Wainscott said, and noted INDOT reduced the maximum individual grant from $1.5 million to $1.0 million to spread funds among more local units.
Wainscott described the staged distribution triggers built into the updated fund: beginning July 1, 2026, $100 million will be available for Community Crossings matching grants; in subsequent years up to $20 million can be directed toward local tracks depending on railroad tax credit claims; on 06/30/2027 other triggers release funds including $50 million in matching grant funds for Marion County (if they choose to match 100%) and lane‑mile distributions for qualifying units.
Wheel tax and lane‑mile distribution Members asked whether local units must adopt a wheel tax to receive Community Crossings funding. Wainscott said there is no requirement to adopt a wheel tax to receive a traditional Community Crossings grant: "No requirement, no requirement, no requirement to adopt a wheel tax," he said. He explained, however, that lane‑mile distributions are tied to adoption of a wheel tax and that units that adopt a wheel tax may be eligible for an additional lane‑mile distribution bucket when that portion of the program begins.
Lawmakers also asked whether city residents could be subject to both county and city wheel taxes (a concern commonly framed as "stacking"). Wainscott said the House version of the law included provisions to address stacking so that a resident should not be charged twice in the same way; the committee discussed further clarifying legislative language.
TRACS and tracks projects On TRACS projects, Wainscott said of an earlier list of 11 locally selected track projects, eight are completed and three remain pending local contributions; he acknowledged inflation and timing since 2018 have created closure challenges and said INDOT can implement internal timelines and benchmarks to reduce long‑tail projects.
Next steps Lawmakers requested documentation and specifics: project counts and dollar totals for postponed projects, the public toll‑waiver submission for I‑70, and additional district‑specific Community Crossings guidance. INDOT agreed to provide materials to the committee.
