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Recent comments from 'dbaker'

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dbaker Monday, October 15, 2012: 2:21 pm

Editorial: End of the I-69 road brings some relief 5:28 PM, Oct 8, 2012 | Comments A A Filed Under Opinion Editorial City-county Council Mitch Daniels What's bad news for state highway planners may be good news for residents and businesspeople on the Southside of Indianapolis. The lack of funds to finish the final leg of the I-69 extension from Evansville to Indianapolis, as reported Sunday by The Star's Ryan Sabalow, could satisfy widespread opposition to the Indy connection, a posture that crosses political party lines. Far more expensive than alternative routes were projected to be, the so-called new-terrain corridor for I-69 would cost more than $1 billion for its Bloomington-to-Indianapolis section alone, and that is money the state doesn't have and doesn't have any prospect of getting. If that means the hugely controversial Indy-to-Evansville highway becomes a Bloomington-to-Evansville highway, the governor and other backers seem at peace with it, at least for the indefinite future. Opponents, who are legion in Southern Indiana and beyond, see the foreshortening as no better than the stall-out of a boondoggle, and no consolation for immense losses in farmland, forests, homes and businesses that already have been incurred. Nor will the grand promise of saving appreciable travel time between Indianapolis and Evansville likely be fulfilled. In Indianapolis, relief may be the dominant reaction. Republican state Rep. Brent Waltz, who represents the area, has said Perry Township stands to lose $300 million in taxable property should the I-69 interchange be built there. Citing multiple negative impact on the community, the City-County Council and Marion County Alliance of Neighborhood Associations have formally opposed the connection. The Indianapolis link has been a looming multimillion-dollar question ever since the state, under Gov. Mitch Daniels' predecessor, rejected a proposed route that would have used existing I-70 for the I-69 extension, with substantial savings to the taxpayer. Now, it appears, the question may be moot. The decades-long I-69 saga may be coming to its end. And not a mile too soon.