Additional I-69 route approved

A controversial plan to route Interstate 69 through new terrain in southwestern Indiana gained the approval of the Federal Highway Administration Monday. The new highway will extend Indiana State Road 37 south through Martinsville and Bloomington, bank southwest to Washington and follow Indiana State Road 57 to Evansville. \nGov. Joe Kernan, joined by Indiana Department of Transportation Commission J. Bryan Nichol and FHWA Division Administrator Robert F. Tally, appeared Monday in Evansville and Washington to extend the news to local government officials and citizens. \n"This road will serve as an economic development engine for all of southwest Indiana," Kernan said in a statement. "It will be a vital link for not only Evansville and our capital city, but also for the many communities of all sizes along the route. Job growth is sure to follow its path."\nTony Felts, director of communications for INDOT, said Kernan was met with a crowd of more than 300 in Evansville that "cheered" the announcement and another 50 to 75 residents turned out in Washington to meet the governor. \nIn endorsing the more direct Evansville-to-Indianapolis corridor -- the shortest and most expensive route considered by the late Gov. Frank O'Bannon in January -- federal authorities disregarded claims of area environmentalists that breaking new ground for I-69 would damage Indiana wildlife and farmland and would result in little economic benefit to the region. \nBut Felts said INDOT has spent more than $77 billion on environmental mitigation and noted the December purchase of 1,500 acres of woodland areas near the Morgan-Monroe State Forest, as well as INDOT's efforts to purchase and protect a winter habitat for Indiana bats, as examples of the department's sensitivity to environmental concerns. INDOT and FHWA will also replace wetlands affected by the route. \nThe 142-mile project will take an estimated eight to 14 years to complete, according to INDOT estimates. The federal government will shoulder 80 percent of the road's $1.78 billion price tag, with the remainder being drawn from Indiana gas tax revenue -- not state coffers, according to INDOT. \nStill, not all Indiana legislators have expressed support for the project. Local lawmakers in January told WTIU television's "Third House" Sunday news program the now-approved route's economic implications far overshadow any potential benefit the direct corridor poses for the state, and State Senator and Finance Chairman Lawrence Borst estimated in October gas tax increases exceeding five cents per gallon would be required to offset construction costs. \nWhile acknowledging voices of dissent against the project, Felts said the new route will reduce travel time between Indianapolis and Evansville by 27 minutes, saving the average commuter one hour round-trip and an aggregate $1.1 billion in vehicle operating costs in the first 20 years after completion. The mayors of Martinsville, Washington and Evansville have been "strong supporters" of the new terrain route as well, he said. \nWashington Mayor David Abel said Monday's announcement was "about the most positive news you could possibly have for Washington and southwestern Indiana."\nHe also noted the importance of the highway in ensuring the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center, located about 35 miles southwest of Bloomington, survives the next federal base realignment phase. \n"The community feedback has been very positive in Washington," Abel said. "Some folks, particularly farmers, will have great inconvenience if the highway goes through their land. That's kind of the case whenever you have this sort of project -- there will be sacrifices."\nBut for Thomas Tokarski, president of Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads, the fight against the approved route is far from over. \n"The important thing to remember is that this does not make it a done deal," he said. "It's been a very long and complicated process, and there's a long way to go before they even think of starting construction."\nSo for now, Tokarski, who lives about 10 miles southwest of Bloomington, plans on stepping up the campaign to halt I-69 construction on the designated route.\n"We're going to continue to insist the state use more fiscally-, environmentally- and socially-feasible alternatives instead of this terribly destructive one," he said.\nFelts said that isn't so. \n"The Federal Highway Administration's approval of the I-69 corridor effectively ends the debate on whether or not I-69 will be built," he said. "It will become a reality in the next eight to 14 years. Now, the process of making the final route alignment begins."\nThat last step will involve breaking the route into six distinct sections for preparation of environmental impact statements. Final approval could take two to three years, according to INDOT estimates.\n-- Contact senior writer Holly Johnson at hljohnso@indiana.edu.