Community members were invited to share thoughts and reactions.
Its estimated cost is approximately $27.1 million.
The purpose of the project is to provide a continuous east-west corridor on the south side of Bloomington, and to improve connectivity throughout the city, reduce traffic congestion and travel times, and increase access to Monroe Hospital.
StructurePoint, the company in charge of the project, also intends for this plan to improve sight problems for drivers, make drainage improvements, allow better residential access to multi-use trails and increase driver and pedestrian safety.
The plan has been in the county’s Thoroughfare Plan since the 1960s, but some residents said at the hearing that the proposed project no longer serves the neighborhood residents .
Alternative plans were formulated and considered, but all were deemed to not meet the purpose and need as well as the chosen ?plan does.
Some Bloomington citizens said they aren’t happy about the project. Their concerns include potential decreases in property values, increased light and noise levels, and the safety of neighborhood children.
“It feels like we’re being punished,” said Isabella Beitvashahi, a mother who lives along the proposed construction route.
Beitvashahi and her husband bought their house in 2006, and learned of StructurePoint’s plans in 2012 from neighbors. “It was like ... war was coming,” ?she said.
She had received a letter from the company about a year before, but it did not inform her of any plans — it simply stated that the company was surveying ?the road.
Now Beitvashahi said she is unsure about where her family stands. She said that she feels the company does not care about them.
Current construction plans envelope a front part of her property, which she said she worked hard to landscape. It was her outlet for dealing with pain after her mother had a stroke, she said.
“Hearing this news has been devastating,” she said.
If Beitvashahi and her neighbors’ land is acquired for the project, it must be regulated by the Uniform Act of 1970, which requires just compensation at ?market price.
Agencies and landowners must go through negotiations, but Paul Johnson, manager of environmental services at StructurePoint, said even if landowners refuse, actions can be taken to acquire their land.
“Because it’s designated as a need to develop this corridor, they can go through mediation, or they can go through condemnation,” Johnson said. “So the government entity has the ability to condemn that property to use for the ?public good.”
Johnson added that if that happens, the agency acquiring the property will help landowners with finding a new place to live and with moving.
Other citizens believe that the project is inevitable and necessary. Bloomington resident Rockie Langley said businesses will get more visibility, traffic will be smoother and the corridor will provide a more direct route for travelers.
“Once it starts rolling, it’s going to happen,” he said.
The project is expected to be built in phases. Further phases haven’t been finalized, but are expected to be as time goes on and funding becomes available. StructurePoint intends to begin Phase 1 in 2015.
