'Major Moves' ahead

Gov. Mitch Daniels announced Wednesday the distribution of funds from the lease of the Indiana Toll Road. $58.5 million of the "Major Moves" bankroll will go toward funding five new road construction projects and one preservation project in Monroe County, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation Web site. \nThe sum is part of nearly $12 billion the state plans to invest in roads over the next 10 years, according to a press release.\n"This is the biggest roads and jobs plan in the state's history, and we'll do it all without increasing the gas tax," Daniels said in the release. "Every state we know of has a huge transportation shortfall, but only Indiana has tackled it this boldly and successfully."\nThe passage of "Major Moves" has earned Daniels national attention, and he has been invited to talk about the project before the U.S. Congress Highways, Transit and Pipelines Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee at a hearing on "Understanding Contemporary Public Private Highway Transactions: The Future of Infrastructure Finance?" this week in Washington, according to Daniel's Web site.\nThe local projects most affecting the IU campus will be the expansion of 10th Street from the bypass intersection to Russell Road and the widening of State Road 46, commonly known as the bypass, from Third to North Walnut streets. The state is contributing a little more than $23 million to the bypass project, which will begin in 2009. Tenth Street will be expanded in two segments. The first, from the bypass intersection to Pete Ellis Drive, will start in 2008. The second, from Pete Ellis Drive to Russell Road, will start in 2011. The state is providing a little more than $7 million for the 10th Street project.\nLocal business owners along 10th Street have known of the possibility of expansion for a while and largely support the projects.\nDerk Frasier, owner of Accounting Concepts, Inc. at the intersection of 10th Street and the bypass, had to sign a purchase agreement during the spring of 2005 allowing the state to buy the 15-25 feet of land in front of his business so it could be used for an expansion project. Frasier said that as a resident he supports the project because he thinks it would help traffic flow in the frequently congested intersection. One of his primary concerns, though, is the fate of his business while construction is underway. The state has promised him that at least one entrance to his business will be accessible, but he worries because clients frequently come in, and he also makes deliveries to his clients. Frasier said he also worries that once the project is completed, the additional lanes will make it hard for customers to make turns to get in and out of his parking lot.\n"Right now someone might be nice enough to let you out or cross, but if there are two lanes, it'll be much more difficult," Frasier said.\nScholars Quad and Fountain Park apartment complexes also support the project, but want to make sure their residents, many of whom are IU students, are taken care of. Michelle Fulford, property manager of Fountain Park Apartments, said the complex has three entrances, so she's not worried about residents having trouble accessing their home. She's excited about the project because it might provide a bus lane in front of the complex, which would be helpful to all residents. Travis Trestler, director of operations for Renaissance Rentals, the company that owns Scholars Quad, said the company is "welcoming of any beautification or widening of the road." Trestler said the residents, however, will remain the company's first priority and that the company will work with the city if necessary to ensure residents aren't inconvenienced during the construction period.\n"If (residents) are having trouble going in and out of apartment, we'll work with the city to make sure (our residents) are happy," Trestler said. "Our company doesn't want anyone inconvenienced."\nThe actual projects throughout the state and the inconveniences they may provide, however, are not the only concerns some Hoosiers have about the distribution of "Major Moves" funds. Brown County resident and 2006 Green Party candidate for Secretary of State Bill Stant questions why Daniels handed out the funds while two lawsuits against "Major Moves", including one filed by Stant, are still pending.\n"It kind of reminds me of President Bush," Stant said. "There seems to be very little concern with the importance of written constitutions as the rule of law in our government."\nStant said that all of the nine defendants in his lawsuit and another lawsuit headed by West Lafayette farmer and activist Steve Bonney, which include Daniels and a number of other state officials, have been granted a request for extension and won't have to respond to the suit until June 9. At that point, a judge will review their response and decide whether to consolidate the two law suits and send the consolidated suit to the Indiana Supreme Court.\n"If it hasn't been consolidated then hopefully (the judge) will agree with us that it's an open-and-shut case in violation of constitution," he said.\nStant was also surprised when he heard that Brown County was the only county in the area that didn't receive "Major Moves" funding to support new road construction and preservation projects.\n"I suppose it's peculiar especially given the Republicans' rise to power in Brown County," he said.\nOther Monroe County projects include new construction at Monroe Dam Road and State Road 37, as well as major preservation on State Road 37 from the Lawrence County line to Dillman Road. \nFor a complete list of funding and projects by county, visit the INDOT Web site at www.in.gov/dot.\nRead Thursday's IDS for more information about how the new projects will affect traffic on campus and around Bloomington.