I-69 Extension project kicks off tomorrow! (Indianapolis, Evansville: new home, buy, compensation)

[Future Trooper]

Hopefully not Interstate 69 really needs to be finished ASAP.

[januaryman169]

I make deliveries to Evansville and it takes about 5 hours to drive from Richmond. My route is I-70 west to 465 south to I-65 south to 264 west to 64 west to 164 south. I tried going to Terre Haute once and going down 41 it seemed to take longer that way. So, the I-69 extention would be great.

[Future Trooper]

Originally Posted by januaryman169

I make deliveries to Evansville and it takes about 5 hours to drive from Richmond. My route is I-70 west to 465 south to I-65 south to 264 west to 64 west to 164 south. I tried going to Terre Haute once and going down 41 it seemed to take longer that way. So, the I-69 extention would be great.

Are you sure you dont mean 265? that seems to be a waste of gas to cross the river and deal with the trafic of downtown Louisville when you could just cut over to I-64 from I-265 in New Albany

[paptofour]

gdude is right on. Take exit 6 from I-65 south onto I-265 around NewAlbany to I-64 west to Evansville. I'm sure it's shorter than crossing the river to 264.

[paptofour]

I-69 exceeding speed limit » Evansville Courier & Press

[Future Trooper]

Wow I figured the project would go a little faster than that. I think when big projects commence that local/state governments should expect for the project to cost more rather than start the project and then have to find more ways to raise the money for the project because the price of the project increased. Atleast the project is staying ahead of schedule.


Thanks for the update

[ShadowCaver]

Still no fan of this crud. Especially when reading such as this from that article:
There also were talks about making I-69 run along current roads rather than making it a "new terrain road." Goodwin said there's no plan of changing that. "Throughout the Vincennes district area ... up to Crane (warfare center) ... that will all be new terrain," she said.

Not like there ain't enough pavement already on this land as it is...

[Future Trooper]

I agree that I would like to see Interstate 69 utilize existing roads. I can't get everything I wish for. Atleast it will utilize Indiana 37/57 for a great distance of the route.

[Toxic Toast]

The good folks of Evansville deserve better than some half-(expletive deleted) route through Terre Haute. Give E-ville the same route Fort Wayne got!

[chalcedony]

I'm not a fan at all. I agree completely with ShadowCaver. Why is a route through Terre Haute--upgrading US 41--so much worse for Evansville than new terrain? It would only add about 20 minutes to the trip, as opposed to the direct route that is going to plow through farms and forests. Don't any Hoosier want to see preserved forested areas grow rather than shrink? We have such a small amount of park land in this state already.

The I-69 extension will probably be good for Evansville and Indy, but these two cities are flourishing in comparison to most of the towns in between. We'll get lots more Subways, gas stations, and McDonald's along the side of the road. More minimum wage jobs for the struggling rural counties of southeast Indiana. And support for the trucking industry, which definitely needs the infrastructure, but if gas prices stay high could be on shaky legs. Pavement isn't always progress, and the right-of-way between Indy and Evansville exists in a number of locations; still they need to clear more trees to build yet a new one. Depressing. And probably my biggest point of disagreement with Gov Daniels.

I would honestly love to hear people's attitudes towards what the environmental impact might be. I try to take a middle-of-the-road position, and perhaps I could become content with the current path of I-69 if I felt like the city was also responding by buying land for more forest preserve or state parks. But as it stands, I think we fail in Indiana ever to see natural beauty as an economic development opportunity on its own.