The destruction of rural Indiana

Sometimes I get the feeling that I'm a slow-paced guy in a fast-paced world. I can never understand why it's necessary for people to carry cell phones or why there's a movement to put a six-lane highway through some of the most beautiful land in Indiana so the drive to Southern Indiana is a few minutes shorter.\nIt seems to me like taking a slightly longer route isn't that big of a deal. I've heard the standard explanation to my conundrum: "It's the economy, stupid!" but I don't buy it.\nThose who advocate the economic benefits of I-69 cite a creation of jobs from the project, and there is no doubt that a major construction project like the expansion of I-69 would employ Hoosiers. But at what cost would these jobs come? A study done at the University of Illinois found that each job created by the project would cost taxpayers $1.5 million. Compare that to an average job cost of $1,000-$5,000 for rural development programs and the cost effectiveness of I-69 suddenly comes into question. So jobs created by I-69 would cost more than 300 times more than the average rural job to create. \nWhat's more, a study by former School of Public and Environmental Affairs professor Neal Johnson said that for ever dollar spent on a new I-69, there would only be 81 cents in economic benefits. I'll avoid the self-important, "Now, I'm no economist…" bit, but these profound numbers would seem fishy to just about anyone. \nAlong with the economic oversight that the new-terrain I-69 advocates have, they also fail to consider the huge footprint that an I-69 expansion would leave on Indiana's environment. If I-69 is expanded through Southern Indiana, it will have an inerasable effect on the areas it goes through. \nEstimates say a new I-69 would destroy upwards of 3,000 acres of farmland and 1,000 acres of forest. Proponents say acres are just a drop in the bucket of Indiana's abundant forests and farmland, but this is a short-sighted response. Not only will there be the initial deforestation because of I-69 construction, but there will be even more when the sprawl that results from the new road is considered. After all, drivers need rest stops, McDonald's and, for good measure, a Wal-Mart or two along the way. And these are only the foreseeable impacts. No one knows what long-term impacts I-69 will have, but they may have the effect of destroying much of Indiana's forest and farmland.\nWhile all of the aforementioned impacts of a new I-69 are, in my mind, reason enough to choose the cheaper US 40/I-70 alternative route, there is one impact of a new-terrain I-69 that is not only unkind, but bordering on cruel. The leading I-69 plan would call for the road to split a large Amish community in half. Amish communities have done nothing negative to the rest of Indiana. They are simply trying to live their lives without outside interference, but, so commuters can save a few minutes on their drive to Evansville, their community must be cut in half by an interstate highway. \nThe impacts of a new-terrain I-69 range from harmful to downright shameful. If the new-terrain I-69 is not reconsidered, not only will Indiana's economy and environment suffer, but a mark of shame will be brought upon this state for invading a community whose only wish is to be left alone.