INDOT figures show rising per‑mile interstate construction costs, driven by inflation and project scale

The Indiana Capital Chronicle reported that INDOT presented data showing an increase in the average cost per centerline mile for interstate work in the 2026 state fiscal year versus 2015. INDOT officials told lawmakers the agency’s accounting includes multiple construction elements and that its recent work has shifted from resurfacing to larger, more material‑intensive capital projects; two unusually complicated projects were included in the agency’s averages.

INDOT leaders and outside sources cited several cost drivers reported in the article: national construction‑cost inflation (the FHWA index rose between 2020 and 2025), labor and materials pressures, the shift to bigger projects, and competition from data centers for equipment and supplies. The article also notes INDOT’s use of project bundling, alternative delivery methods and 20‑year asset plans, and that projects are competitively bid with the agency generally required to accept the lowest‑priced proposal.

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