WASHINGTON —
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — After years of work, Indiana is weeks away from opening the first half of the Interstate 69 extension that’s slated to eventually run from the state’s southwestern corner to Indianapolis.
The Indiana Department of Transportation said Friday that a 67-mile section of the highway from Evansville to near the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center will open Nov. 19. That stretch is roughly the first half of the planned $3 billion, 142-mile highway that was announced in early 2003.
INDOT said the section will connect communities from just northeast of Evansville at Interstate 64 to the U.S. 231 interchange about 20 miles southwest of Bloomington. Construction began in 2008.
The I-69 project has been the subject of numerous lawsuits filed by environmentalists and others who supported an alternative proposal to upgrade existing highways.
Opponents contend the highway, two-thirds of which is being built over never-paved areas, will damage sensitive ecosystems and won’t live up to state officials’ claims of quicker travel times and an economic boost for the rural, isolated region.
Gov. Mitch Daniels said Friday in a statement that the state’s 75-year Indiana Toll Road lease to private operators for $3.8 billion helped the state deliver the first half of the highway years ahead of schedule.
“Many people said this interstate expansion wouldn’t happen in their lifetime, but it’s now poised to open and the result will be greater economic opportunity, faster and safer travel, improved connectivity, easier access for leisure travel and more,” Daniels said.
Money from the leasing paid for most of the 67 miles of new highway, which cost $620 million — about $80 million under its construction budget, said INDOT spokesman Will Wingfield. He attributed those savings to good design and the nation’s weak economy, which lowered the highway’s construction costs.
State officials set aside $700 million from the Toll Road proceeds for the I-69 project, but most of that money has been spent. Wingfield said the state hopes to complete the project with revenue from federal and state gasoline taxes and by also exploring “innovative financing” options.
Tim Maloney, executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council, one of the groups that sued the state over the I-69 extension, said the state agency isn’t including in its tally for the 67-mile segment the costs for land acquisition, relocating utility infrastructure and design and engineering.
With those, Maloney said the cost of the 67-mile stretch actually totals more than $900 million.
“They persist in telling the public that they’re under budget when their own planning documents show what the full cost is. ... It’s misleading the public,” he said.
Over the coming weeks, Wingfield said, crews will finish the section by completing a concrete deck and railing along a 4,400-foot-long bridge through the Patoka River Wildlife Refuge.
Wingfield said the next section — a 27-mile stretch that will run from the Crane area to just south of Bloomington — is scheduled to open in late 2014. It’s projected to cost about $600 million, and will cut across a rugged, wooded area that’s filled with caves, springs and sinkholes. Environmentalists warn the area is highly sensitive and harbors populations of the federally endangered Indiana bat.
Wingfield said it’s uncertain when the final two sections — from Bloomington to Martinsville and Martinsville to Indianapolis — would be complete. Those segments remain in the design and environmental study phase.
Local News
I-69 to open Nov. 19
- Local News
-
-
Republicans to vote on new trustee
Republicans from Washington Township will meet today to vote on a new township trustee.
Fifteen committee chairmen from Washington Township will vote at 8:45 a.m. today to fill the position following the death of Albert “Pete” Showalter, who died on April 13. -
North, Owens 'Play' hard
North Elementary School celebrated its field day Friday with games, ice cream, inflatable fun houses and Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders.
-
B-R to graduate 41
Barr-Reeve High School will hold its 48th commencement exercises on May 25, in the high school gymnasium at 2 p.m. Again this year, the graduation will be an afternoon affair.
-
Police Report
CITY REPORT
Thursday
1:03 a.m. - Karen Hulsey, of 511 S. Meridian St. reported a subject possibly hiding the bushes behind her residence. She stated she didn’t see anyone, but could hear coughing. -
School board approves new handbooks
Members of the Washington Community Schools Board approved the 2013- 2014 school handbooks. Elementary, junior high and high school student handbooks will now be more streamlined with one another. One major change to the handbooks will be a stricter attendance policy for students. Currently, students in the school district can have 10 unexcused absences per semester.
-
Unchained Gang roars into park
The Daviess County Unchained Gang will be hosting its 11th annual motorcycle show and swap meet Saturday at Eastside Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
-
DECA to sponsor dodgeball tourney
Members of the Washington High School DECA Chapter will be hosting a DECA Dodgeball Tournament on Tuesday in the Hatchet House beginning at 6:30 p.m.
-
Area Briefs
Road paving in Washington
The Indiana Department of Transportation is advising motorists to be aware of temporary lane restrictions on Bus. 50 in Washington. Beginning on or after Monday, May 20, crews will be spot paving throughout the city. Work will be accomplished one lane at a time and utilize flag persons to control traffic through the work zones. Work activities are scheduled to take place between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day with all paving operations anticipated to be complete by May 24. Inclement weather will cancel the work operation for the day.
-
Police Report
CITY REPORT
7:56 p.m. - A complainant on E. Nat'l Hwy. reported there was a truck popped open playing very loud music. -
Police Report
CITY REPORT
Wednesday
2:19 p.m. - Dave Waters, 200 1/2 SE 7th St., reported that someone had broken into his storage building and broke the windows out of the vehicles stored there. Waters also said that someone had smashed in the roofs on many of the vehicles. Extra patrol was requested. - More Local News Headlines
-
Republicans to vote on new trustee
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
