INDOT to open regional I-69 project offices

The Indiana Department of Transportation will soon begin the next step in preliminary work mapping out the path for Interstate 69. As part of the plan, INDOT is establishing six project offices scattered approximately every 25 miles along the estimated 142-mile estimated course of the highway.\nThe federal government approved the 2,000-foot corridor route, known as Alternative 3C, this spring. The project offices, scheduled to open within the next few weeks, will house INDOT's Tier 2 final alignment teams. Those teams will survey the land within Alternative 3C to determine exactly where I-69's route will run. According to INDOT, the surveying process should take place over the next 18 to 36 months.\nThe project offices will also serve as meeting grounds for the community to discuss concerns about I-69 and the local effects the highway will have.\n"We want to be as open as possible for information about I-69," said Tony Felts, INDOT director of communications.\nFelts said he hopes the offices will serve as a vocal clearing house for the public about I-69 concerns and encouraged the public to get involved with helping the team determine the best possible route for I-69. Dates have not been set as to when the public will be able to voice those concerns locally.\n"The best way to find that final alignment is to get public input in figuring it out," Felts said.\nEach office will represent a section of land being surveyed for the highway. Teams will explore the corridor along their sections to determine what obstacles, whether commercial or environmental, exist within it and determine how to shape the highway to avoid physical problems.\nBruce Hudson, who heads the Section IV project office handling I-69 final alignment between U.S. Highway 41 in Greene County to U.S. 37 at Rockport Road south of Indianapolis, explained that each section of the highway has its own problems. In some sections, the largest obstacle to consider in mapping I-69 is endangered species; in others, swamp land; and in others, Amish communities living nearby that may be disrupted by construction. INDOT teams will also have to avoid historical landmarks, commercial zones and certain water tables.\n"Each section has its own personality," Hudson said. "Right now, that 2,000 feet -- we're unknowledgeable about it and we are trying to find out what's there."\nWendy Vachet, who heads the Section V project office for Monroe County, which runs from U.S. 37 and Victor Pike to just south of Martinsville, said the project had been divided into small, manageable sections. This will help planners map the interstate with better knowledge of local issues.\n"Dividing it into six sections makes it more manageable and brings it back to where it needs to be -- in the community," Vachet said.\nFelts said understanding community needs in the final alignment process is important.\n"There's no way we could ever know what we need to avoid in these communities unless the people come forward to help us," Felts said.\nFelts said INDOT was not yet near the land acquisition portion of highway construction. Land acquisition will not begin until after the surveying is complete. Homeowners who have received notice of survey letters do not need to worry about losing their property now if their land becomes slated for acquisition.\n"Just because a property owner receives these letters does not mean we are going to touch their property," Vachet said. "If they receive a letter, if they have any questions, they should call INDOT. Just because they receive it doesn't mean they will be affected."\nHudson said INDOT will be able to answer more questions after this portion of highway survey.\n"People have wanted to know, 'If I look out my window, will I see a highway,' and we are getting down to that level where we can let them know," Hudson said.\n--Contact arts editor Jenica Schultz at jwschult@indiana.edu.