INDOT reports average interstate rebuild cost of $46M per centerline mile in FY2026

The Indiana Capital Chronicle (Oct. 2, 2026) reports INDOT’s average cost to build a centerline mile of interstate in state fiscal year 2026 was $46 million. That figure, the article says, covered full reconstruction or added travel-lane work and included lane replacements, added shoulders, barrier walls and guardrails, traffic and drainage controls, materials and labor. INDOT’s FY2026 average reflected two complex projects — Revive I-70 in Wayne County and Safer Drive 65 in Scott and Clark counties — and the article notes the Federal Highway Administration’s national highway construction cost index rose by more than 60% from 2020 through 2025.

The article attributes higher costs to sharp increases in concrete, steel and other materials; supply-chain shortages; pandemic effects; and competition from data centers consuming construction materials and equipment. It also reports INDOT bundles projects by timing and location, generally awards competitively bid contracts to the lowest-priced proposal, uses alternative delivery methods to involve contractors pre-construction, and relies on 20-year asset-management plans to guide interventions.

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