Construction for the four-lane highway between Indianapolis and Evansville, Indiana, and an interstate between Bloomington and Evansville began in 2012.
Will Wingfield of the Indiana Department of Transportation said the opening will generate more traffic into Bloomington.
It will also create easier access from Bloomington to the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, Indiana, Wingfield said.
The interstate development has faced significant controversy throughout the entire planning and construction process.
I-69 was ordered to be built during the Mitch Daniels administration in spite of the negative findings in the “Donohue Study,” a report submitted to INDOT in 1990.
The report did not recommend the routes between Indianapolis and Evansville due to low cost-benefit ratios and uncertain funding.
Environmental groups also criticized the plan. The Hoosier Environmental Council predicted the interstate would require 4,000 acres of farmland to be paved, 2,000 acres of forest to be cut down and 650 caves to be disturbed.
In response to these complaints, Wingfield said the government has purchased 4,100 acres for environmental protection.
For some, it’s not enough.
“Our hearts are torn by this degradation of our homes, our farms, our forests and our rural communities,” said Thomas and Sandra Tokarski, advocates who fought the construction for years said in an email.
They suggested Indiana should adopt a new motto.
“The Crossroads of America: Easy to Get Through, No Reason to Stay.”
Annie Garau
