Federal group against new terrain

INDIANAPOLIS -- A second federal agency is backing the use of existing highway routes for the planned Interstate 69 extension in southwestern Indiana, saying it would cause less environmental damage.\nInterior Department officials say the extension should follow I-70 and U.S. 41 between Indianapolis and Evansville rather than the five routes of mostly new construction that have been favored by the state.\n"In general, the department supports routes that upgrade or closely follow existing highways because new-terrain routes often result in the greatest loss and fragmentation of natural habitats and involve the most stream and river crossings at new locations," Willie Taylor, director of the Interior Department's environmental policy office, said in a Nov. 14 letter to the Federal Highway Administration.\nThe state Department of Transportation did not include the I-70/U.S. 41 route among its top choices, saying it was not as effective as others in reducing travel time and spurring economic growth.\nAndy Knott of the Hoosier Environmental Council said he hoped the Interior Department's support of the existing route that his group has favored would sway the state's decision.\nRoger Manning, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said Thursday that state officials were reviewing all comments, including those from federal agencies, and still expected to announce its route choice this month.\nState officials have also said they are analyzing a "hybrid" route suggested by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials. The route would follow Indiana 37 south from Indianapolis to Bloomington and then turn west to link with U.S. 41 near Vincennes.\nThat route is a combination of two of the studied routes with some additional roadway.\nState highway Commissioner J. Bryan Nicol has said the EPA-suggested alternative "has the potential to meet our project goals and have less environmental impact."\nIn a Nov. 22 letter to Nicol and the Federal Highway Administration, EPA Regional Administrator Thomas Skinner said the EPA's suggestion was merely an example of a possible alternative and not an endorsement of the hybrid route.\nThe EPA, he said, still considers the route following the four-lane U.S. 41 north from Evansville to Terre Haute and then east on I-70 to Indianapolis the best plan.\nManning said the state agency had no comment on the EPA's clarification of its position.\nKnott said the environmental council would consider legal action if the hybrid plan, which was not included in the state's environmental impact study, was selected without further study or a new public comment period.