Musicians rally against I-69 construction

As musicians set up their instruments and tuned their guitars, Mitch Rice stepped up to the microphone and spoke Saturday night to a crowd of Bloomington residents who filled the seats of the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.\n"The corporate forces are not taking over here in Bloomington," Rice said in a southern drawl. "We can't let highways define our way of life. We're not going to let them pave us. Help us fight this thing."\nThe sound of many clapping hands filled the theater. \nRice was referring to Interstate 69, an interstate highway the Indiana Department of Transportation plans to construct in years ahead that would connect the south side of Indianapolis to Evansville. While numerous state government officials support the proposed plan by former Gov. Evan Bayh in 1990, there has been a flood of citizen opposition in Bloomington and neighboring communities. Thirteen bands and local musicians performed at the Buskirk-Chumley to celebrate the release of a collaborative CD titled, "Save It, Don't Pave It: Music to Save our Communities," in an effort to increase awareness of the monetary, environmental and personal consequences of I-69.\nMarc Haggerty, one of the musicians and a life-long resident of Bloomington, said he thinks he can impact people through his songs.\n"I hope my songs will reach a spiritual place in the person who hears them. I hope they will touch their hearts," Haggerty said. "It motivates people when their hearts are touched."\nOthers, like Brian Winterman, said they participated because they feel strongly for the cause.\n"I'm from Evansville. I love the fact that there are about 15 different two-lane highways I could take to get to Bloomington," he said. "I don't really care that an interstate could shave off 15 minutes of my time."\nThe effort to put this CD together began in January of 2003, said Michelle Henderson, who helped organize the event. The money made from CD sales will be used to fund Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads Inc., a grassroots organization working to protect the forests and farmlands that could be damaged by the construction of I-69. Henderson herself will be affected if the highway is built.\n"Our house was built in 1870 and is 400 feet off the center line of I-69," Henderson said. "This means our house will be destroyed. It is really sad, though, to know our house is one of hundreds of houses that will be affected, and I'm sure are all of them are very beautiful."\nHenderson said there will be many other negative consequences for the state if the highway is built. The new-terrain I-69 would cost Indiana taxpayers an estimated $1.7 billion, which she said means less money would be available for education and health care. She said taxes will also likely increase because the Indiana Department of Transportation will need adequate funding to get the job done, and the money that is supposed to go towards paving and maintaining rural roads will end up being used for the highway.\nSandra Tokarski, a member of the CARR Steering Committee, said she thinks INDOT should upgrade existing roads instead of creating the highway because it would cause far less damage to the environment. Tokarski suggested these upgrades should include putting in 8-to-10-foot shoulders, softening harsh curves and creating more passing and turn lanes to make the roads safer. She said this is a better solution than I-69.\n"The real issue is that we can't keep the roads we have in good repair, we don't need to be adding to the road system," Tokarski said. "And we can not continue to pave over farmland, not just because it is beautiful, but because it sustains us."\nSome feel differently about the issue. Joshua Claybourn, a law student at IU Purdue University-Indianapolis, said he drives on those two-lane Southern Indiana roads often. He said not only does he find them to be confusing, poorly maintained and slow, but dangerous too.\n"Consider the wasted gas and fuel, along with time and safety," Claybourn said. "On average, over the past 25 years, 10 deaths and 450 serious injuries per month have taken place on Southwestern Indiana's archaic, curvy, two-lane highway system. Thousands of IU students travel between IU and Evansville each year, and they deserve better." \n-- Contact staff writer Lindsay Lyon at lrlyon@indiana.edu.