Indiana Toll Road plazas to get $30 million overhaul

GRANGER — Some Indiana Toll Road plazas are about to get a makeover.

The $30 million project includes the demolition and rehabilitation of eight travel plaza buildings — including those in Rolling Prairie and Elkhart — and the closing of two.

The change has been long overdue, said Jeff Rea, president and CEO of the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce. It created some excitement among local economic development groups earlier this year, he said, when IFM Investors, the Australian-based investment firm which bought the Toll Road out of bankruptcy for $5.72 billion, promised to upgrade the roadway and rest stops.

"I think it's been a top priority for counties along the Toll Road," Rea said. "It's the first impression some people get of Indiana and, in some cases, the only impression of Indiana that people get."

Once the Toll Road sale was finalized in May, plans began for updating it, said Amber Kettring, public relations manager for ITR Concession Co., which manages the highway. "We worked with a consultant who goes around the country revitalizing toll plazas."

It was determined that the distance between the current travel plazas was not sustainable, she said. In the past, plazas were built 30 to 40 miles apart because cars needed to refuel more often. But today, vehicles are more fuel efficient and plazas on other toll roads are typically closer to 60 miles apart.

The company decided to keep and rebuild eight of its ten plazas. The new structures will feature modern travel facilities with state-of-the-art technology and new food options, according to a company press release.

But the company will permanently close the Fremont plazas at milepost 146 in Steuben County Oct. 1. Currently, that location only offers fuel and restrooms and there is another toll plaza 20 miles west of it, Kettring said. It didn't make sense to have two plazas so close together. The plazas will be demolished in 2016.

In April of 2016, the travel plazas at Portage, milepost 22, and Elkhart, milepost 90, will be demolished and rebuilt. The new plazas will be smaller than before, but will offer fuel and convenience stores. They are expected to be complete in August of that year.

At that point, ITR will begin phase three of its project, which is to demolish and rebuild the plazas at Rolling Prairie in LaPorte County, milepost 56, and Howe, milepost 126. These will operate as full-service travel plazas. An Indiana-based architecture firm has been hired to prepare initial proposals for their concept and interior design.

“Our strategy is to create sites that will make Hoosiers proud of their state and their Toll Road,” said Ken Daley, CEO of ITR Concession, in a release. “We are incorporating Indiana touches into the concepts and design and are ready to see them come to fruition.”

What the Indiana touches will be hasn't been fully decided yet, Kettring said, but may incorporate some Indiana limestone repurposed from the current buildings and Indiana-themed decor. ITR Concession is still looking for a company or companies to operate the travel plazas and might wait to include the operator in the decor decision.

"There's definitely hope that the travel plaza experience along the Toll Road will improve significantly," said Rob DeCleene, executive director of Visit South Bend Mishawaka. "Of course, they go a long way toward providing an image of northern Indiana but they also provide us a great gateway to distribute information to potential visitors to the area.

"Improving the plazas needs to be a priority and it sounds like we're getting there."