ELKHART CO. — A local county says high gas prices could lead to rough roads for drivers. We first told you last week that Elkhart County says it won't be able to pave nearly as much this summer.

But Bruce Augustine of Goshen has a Good Question: What happened to the millions of dollars from the Toll Road lease that were to go for roads?

WSBT's Kirk Mason has the answer.

When you see gas sitting above $4 per gallon, that cost isn't just hurting your wallet; it may wind up hurting your car.

The Elkhart County Highway Department is cutting back its summer paving program because of the high price of gas and asphalt. This year they will only pave 16 miles of road; last summer they paved 27 miles. The county has 830 miles of roads.

You may recall each county the Indiana Toll Road runs through received an additional $40 million from the Toll Road lease. Part of that money goes to city and other local governments so Elkhart County has about $25 million available.

But county leaders say the decision has been made to use that money to pay for big projects. The two biggest projects right now are the Six Span and Johnson Street Bridge projects.

The $15 million Six Span Bridge project will expand it from 4 to 7 lanes. City leaders say they also have to do the more than $10 million project on the Johnson Street Bridge because of a support problem.

The Toll Road money they're using for that project is part of a renewable loan fund the county is supposed to pay back.