Environmental groups sue to stop I-69 extension plan

Several environmental groups and concerned citizens filed a federal lawsuit to block the proposed I-69 extension from Evansville to Indianapolis.\nThe Hoosier Environmental Council, Bloomington-based groups Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads and Sassafras Audubon Society, and six southern Indiana residents filed the lawsuit Monday in Indianapolis U.S. District Court, according to The Associated Press.\nThe lawsuit asks for an injunction in constructing the $2 billion road, which would replace part of Ind. 37 in Bloomington and claims state officials violated several federal laws in selecting the route.\n"Those laws require (Indiana Department of Transportation) to take a hard look at all reasonable alternatives in southwest Indiana," said John Moore, senior attorney with the Environmental Law & Policy Center of Chicago, which represents the plaintiffs. "We have asked them to do so, and they have refused."\nThe plaintiffs claim the state tailored selection criteria to ensure the route it preferred was chosen. They also contend that upgrading U.S. 41 and Interstate 70 would be cheaper and cause less environmental damage.\nThe lawsuit also says the route will destroy nearly 7,000 acres of farmland, forest and wetlands, cut through the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge, located in Pike and Gibson counties, and divide several rural communities.\n"Studies have shown (the) I-69 (extension) will be a financial and economic disaster," Moore said.\nBut INDOT says that the construction of I-69 will benefit the state economically, spurring more companies like Honda and Nestle to open businesses in the state.\n"The first thing those companies ask us is if there's an interstate nearby," INDOT spokesman Gary Abell said. "This will be a key piece in getting economic conditions moving forward in Indiana."\nAbell said that INDOT wasn't surprised about the lawsuit and anticipated it for several years but said there was no reason to believe viable alternatives weren't explored.\n"It was studied extensively from 2000 until 2004, and no other route was found that provided a great benefit to southwest Indiana," he said.\nEarlier this year, Gov. Mitch Daniels proposed a public-private partnership to turn I-69 into a toll road. Critics say this will keep people off the road, further hurting economic development in the state.\nAbell said the state is still looking into the possible effects and other alternatives to fund the project.\nMeanwhile, the state will forge ahead on I-69 unless an injunction is issued. INDOT hopes to break ground on the project in the summer of 2008, Abell said.\nThe Federal Highway Administration endorsed the proposed I-69 route in March 2004. Defendants named in the lawsuit include the Federal Highway Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and INDOT Commissioner Thomas Sharp, according to The Associated Press.