BLOOMINGTON — Indiana's 142-mile Interstate 69 extension remained in jeopardy Friday as a Bloomington group kept in place the procedural roadblock it has tossed in front of the northern portion of the project.
The city's officials repeatedly decried the Indiana Department of Transportation's tactics, accusing the state of "extortion" to try to move the highway's construction along more rapidly, during a sometimes-tense five-hour meeting.
The Bloomington/Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization was expected to vote Friday on whether to drop its objections and amend I-69 construction back into its three-year plan.
Instead, the group opted to again push back that vote, this time until its February meeting. The reason for the delay, its members said, is so that the city of Bloomington can keep the only leverage it has to affect the project.
The state has leverage of its own. It has threatened to turn off the state and federal funding spigots, shutting Bloomington out of receiving millions of dollars, until it gets what it wants: approval to build I-69 through the Bloomington area.
Members of the Bloomington MPO's policy committee said they want assurances that the city can play an important role in directing the portion of I-69 that passes by its west side.
"You're asking us to negotiate by threatening to cut off funds for vital projects. That's extortion. That is a gun to our head. If you are interested in negotiating, then remove that threat," said Mark Stoops, a member of the Bloomington MPO's policy committee.
At several points, the meeting was interrupted by members of the public who were there in nearly-blanket opposition to the highway. Other times, state and federal highway officials had sharp exchanges with members of the group.
Jim Stark, INDOT's deputy commissioner for planning and project management, said the state has sought to involve local officials, and has repeatedly answered their questions. He said he isn't clear on what else Bloomington wants.
Richard Martin, a Bloomington MPO member who chaired an I-69 subcommittee, told Stark he believes the state's commitment to working with the city is rooted in the project's finances.
"It's the only thing we have that keeps you at the table, as far as we can tell," he said. "Good faith on your part is great, but it's the $25 million that keeps you coming here."
Eventually, a vote on that amendment taking place is critical because the group, which was created by Congress, can block federal dollars from flowing to transportation projects in its territory that it does not approve.
The I-69 project is divided into six sections. The first three, from Evansville to the Crane Naval Warfare Center, are already under construction, and are expected to be open for traffic by the end of 2012.
The fourth section stretches from Crane to the south side of Bloomington, and it includes 1.7 miles that pass through the Bloomington MPO's territory.
Those 1.7 miles – the last piece of section four, which the state plans to complete in 2014 – are expected to cost about $25 million to build. Even without the Bloomington MPO's approval, the state can build that portion with its own funds, the Federal Highway Administration has said.
But the fifth section, for which plans are not yet finalized and a funding source outside of regular gas tax revenue has not yet been identified, also starts within the Bloomington group's territory.
Unless the group is on board, the Federal Highway Administration cannot give Indiana the green light to build any portion of that fifth section.
That means that unless the standoff is resolved, Indiana could be left with a highway that connects Evansville to Indiana 37 in Bloomington, and then would send motorists up a state road with stoplights the rest of the way to Indianapolis.
"INDOT is disappointed with the actions at today's meeting and that no vote was taken," said Cher Elliot, a spokeswoman for INDOT.
But, she said, in the immediate term, the Bloomington MPO's delay will cause no effect. The state let the first of its contracts for section four this week, and the next contract is also for construction of a piece that falls outside of the panel's boundaries.
"At this time we don't see any impact on our plans for construction of section four," she said.
Bloomington officials have expressed a number of concerns with the I-69 project. Some of them are over its environmental impact. Others stem from fears the highway will lead to interstate traffic being dumped onto city roadways.
"When did extortion become acceptable public policy? When did that happen? We need much more discussion of the cost of building this highway," said Thomas Tokarski, the president of the anti-I-69 group Citizens for Appropriate Rural Roads. "You do not have the whole truth."