I-69 still a burning passion on both sides

Though the first houses and trees have been bulldozed for the construction of the new stretch of I-69 , the controversy surrounding it is still far from being settled among Indiana residents and lawmakers. \nCitizens’ and environmental groups as well as candidates running in Tuesday’s upcoming primary election are still expressing opposition to the planned highway, chiefly citing concern for the feasibility, necessity and impact of the project. \nOn March 11, the Indiana Department of Transportation began clearing trees and the first homes on a 1.7-mile stretch of land that runs north from Evansville. The demolitions were the first moves in preparation of highway construction, which is slated to begin in June.\nBut even as the new highway is looking increasingly imminent, the efforts of some of those opposed to its construction haven’t been abated. Sandra Tokarski of Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads, which opposes any new highway construction, said her group is still making efforts to effect a change in policy toward I-69.\n“We are still contacting lawmakers, we are still making phone calls,” she said.\nCARR has been strongly opposed to the construction of the new highway, which it maintains is unnecessary because of sufficient alternate routes. The new span of I-69 as planned will stretch about 142 miles and run from Evansville to Indianapolis. Tokarski and others who oppose the highway say that besides environmental factors, existing roads already provide a viable route between the two cities. They also claim that for a fraction of the cost of paving new roads, existing roads could be repaired and upgraded.\n“It’s unconscionable when people are starving to be paving over farmland for a highway we don’t need,” Tokarski said. \nNot all of I-69 will be newly constructed road, however. In certain places, the new highway would use existing road as part of its route. The stretch of State Road 37 that runs through Bloomington is one of those. \nMark Stoops is a Democrat running for commissioner of Monroe County in the upcoming primary and is opposed to the expansion of I-69. Stoops said that even though construction efforts are already underway, Monroe County does still have some ability to resist the highway being routed through Bloomington.\n“We have responsibility for some of the environmental factors that the road will affect, such as Lake Monroe and the nature preserves, and we could use our authority over those resources to make our case,” Stoops said. \nStoops also said he’s concerned many residents in the state now see I-69 as a “done deal” and have resigned themselves to accepting its construction.\n“I think this is a strategy by the state to get people to shut up,” he said. “But it’s a chance for local officials to stand up and resist.”\nBut those in favor of the project continue to tout the boost to southern Indiana’s economy that would follow the completion of the highway, particularly in Evansville where some residents are strongly in favor of I-69.\nFred Pendley is a resident of Evansville and believes the traffic efficiency and economic benefits that would accompany I-69 far outweigh any purported costs.\n“It’ll save on fuel costs because it’s a faster drive, and U.S. Highway 41 (an alternate route) is in bad condition,” he says. “And it can only mean good things for Evansville’s economy.”