I-69 under more debate

INDIANAPOLIS -- A Marion County citizens advisory board hearing took place Friday at the Rosa Park Elementary School on the south side of Indianapolis to discuss the effect that Interstate-69 would have on Marion County. \nThe meeting was organized by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization, a regional transportation planning board that works in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Transportation. \nINDOT, the leading proponent of I-69, is currently in the Tier 1 drafting stages of the highway plan that would directly connect Indianapolis and Evansville via Bloomington. The definite route has not been decided, but Gov. Frank O'Bannon INDOT officials have selected a preferred corridor that would pass through parts of Marion County and Bloomington along State Road 37. \nThe I-69 proposal still has to be approved by the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which has yet to make a decision. \n"It's not a done deal by any means," said Mike Dearing, head of the Indianapolis MPO. \nMPO officials said they would like to see the proposal reach Tier 2, the determination of the final route, before they make a decision. INDOT officials said the Tier 2 study might begin in late 2003 or early 2004, once the Federal Highway Administration approves the plans for environmental impact of the construction.\nThe hearing allowed for representatives from INDOT and the Marion County Alliance of Neighborhood Associates, a grass-roots organization made up of 60,000 Marion County citizens, to speak their opposing views of the I-69 plan.\nBryan Nicol, commissioner of INDOT, speaking on behalf of the proposal, said I-69 would relieve traffic congestion on Ind. 37 between Indianapolis and Bloomington. According to INDOT, I-69 also would improve access to the Indianapolis International Airport and help bolster southwestern Indiana's economy. Bryan said the "preffered corridor" is aimed at reducing traffic accidents between Indianapolis and Bloomington and promoting accessibility between central and southwestern Indiana. \nCathy Burton, president of McANA, opposed the plan, saying I-69 would "would destroy Marion County neighborhoods." \nShe said she would rather see an improvement to the I-70/U.S. 41 route to Evansville, which she said is a better economic choice. \nAccording to McANA, the alternative I-70/US 41 improvement plan, which connects Indianapolis and Evansville via Terre Haute, would cost $800 million less than building I-69.\nThe building of I-69 "will not bring any new people to Marion County, it will just provide a new way to get in and out," Burton said.\nBurton said she believes the building of I-69 will cause the counties surrounding Marion County to offer tax incentives to draw Marion County businesses away from the city. This would then cause any economic expansion to occur away from I-69, she said. \nMcANA also expressed environmental concerns. \n"I-69 is a threat to the well fields that supply water to Marion County," Burton said. \nMany citizens present at the meeting agreed with McANA as a handful carried around "STOP I-69" posters. \n"We don't need it, and it's too much money," Marion County resident William Boyd said. "It will also pave over homes and thousands of acres of farmland"