Local groups express concern with I-69 work

In the weeks since the approval for the construction of I-69, controversy surrounding the new interstate continues to mount. The Indiana Department of Transportation predicts the new highway, which will connect Indianapolis to Evansville, will save commuters an hour or more of travel time round trip.\nBut I-69 opponents claim the new highway would only reduce travel time by 26 minutes round trip and would damage the environment. Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads, the Association of Monroe County Taxpayers and the Hoosier Environmental Council have joined forces to fight INDOT and I-69 construction. Their most recent allegation is that INDOT's claim of federal funding for the construction project is a fallacy. \nAccording to INDOT, 80 percent of the funding for the project comes from the federal government and Indiana residents only have to pay 20 percent of the bill through the state gas tax. Greg Travis, executive director of AMCT, claims these statistics are misleading. He says the federal government will be supplying no new funds to Indiana for the construction of I-69.\n"From my perspective, people have to understand there is no special money there," Travis said. \nThe funds for the construction of I-69 come from the federal gas tax paid by state residents, he said. Money taken from the federal gas tax is returned to the state each year regardless of special projects such as I-69. Travis said this money is usually used for regular road repairs and other projects in Indiana. Because the federal money comes from gas taxes, Travis said Indiana residents are paying the entire bill for the new interstate.\n"There's no special pot of money that is new money coming to Indiana for this highway," said CARR member Sandra Tokarski. "Two billion dollars is a lot of money that could be used on any other project in the state."\nINDOT Communications Director Tony Felts said I-69 construction would not take funding away from other highway projects. The Federal Highway Administration must approve all of INDOT's plans and has determined that construction of I-69 would not be a financial burden on the state, Felts said. \n"The Federal Highway Administration has looked at our numbers and they say that what we have is possible," Felts said. "They have given us their backing on this."\nFelts said while the nearly $2 billion budgeted for the new highway sounds like a lot of money, INDOT's budget for the next 25 years is $33 billion. The cost of I-69's construction only represents 5 percent of the INDOT budget. \nINDOT project manager Lyle Sadler said plans for I-69 have not been slowed by local protesters. \n"It's just business as usual for me," Sadler said. "I just keep on doing what I do."\n-- Contact Arts editor Jenica Schultz at jwschult@indiana.edu.