Justin Schneider, Herald Bulletin
Gov. Mitch Daniels and the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will have to change minds if the Indiana Commerce Connector (ICC) is to gain acceptance in Madison County.
The ICC plan met with resistance Thursday during a meeting sponsored by INDOT and the governor's office held at Anderson University's Reardon Auditorium.
Joseph Gustin, deputy commissioner of public-private partnerships for INDOT, gave a short introduction before answering questions before an audience of about 50 people.
"The governor is committed to economic growth in Indiana," Gustin said. "And having viable transportation infrastructure is an important part of the plan."
Daniels has proposed creating a 75-mile outerbelt tollway that would link four interstate highways - 65, 69, 70 and 74 - around central Indiana. The project is expected to cost around $1.5 billion and Daniels has suggested a public-private partnership (P3) to fund it.
The reaction from most who spoke was generally negative. Gustin further compounded the problem with a seemingly conflicted message.
"This project was never intended to ease traffic north of Indianapolis," Gustin said, which seemed to contradict proposed benefits of the project listed in provided documentation. He also said the contract for Interstate 69 does not include a noncompetition clause, while state Sen. Tim Lanane, D-District 25, said the opposite.
Gustin said INDOT looked at median income, property growth, sales tax revenue and building permits in Indiana's 92 counties and found that those numbers were strongest in communities with access to interstate highways. Of the last 327 deals completed by the Indiana Economic Development Corp., Gustin said, 80 percent were completed in counties with Interstate access.
But INDOT must continue exploring traffic volumes, locations and environmental effects.
"Once we have that, we can determine the preliminary viability," Gustin said. "Right now, we're asking the Legislature to transfer P3 authority from I-69 to the Indiana Commerce Connector and the Illiana Expressway."
The ICC would likely begin around Pendleton and travel through Hendricks, Morgan, Johnson, Shelby and Hancock counties. Some who favored the project said they would like to see it closer to Anderson.
Don Henderson, president of the Pendleton Town Council, spoke in favor of the project, saying detractors will always make their voices heard.
"As an elected official, I would be lying if I said there was not a lot of misinformation," he said. "I happened to grow up when the interstate was being built and people said it would split farms, it would cause problems. All that is true, there will be disruptions. But I would ask you how you would like it today if the interstate were done away with."
One audience member called the plan an abuse of eminent domain and Anderson City Councilman Rick Muir continued the subject, asking whether the public/governmental standard or the private standard of eminent domain would apply to the ICC. Gustin said that had not been determined.
Muir also asked for the names of companies interested in entering into a public-private partnership with the state and Gustin replied that those names were being made confidential.
"I could give the names, but I would rather not. I feel they were given under confidentiality," Gustin said. "Every part of this will be made public."
Gustin said INDOT hopes to prepare a request for project (RFP) document within 30 days and then begin to solicit bids for the project. First, however, the Indiana General Assembly must pass Senate Bill 001 transferring the P3 agreement from I-69 to the ICC. The bill will be heard in a Senate committee next week.
Bill McAllister of Fishers said the ICC makes little sense for truckers, commuters and could hurt Indianapolis.
"I remember when Shadeland Avenue was a major connecting highway on the north side," McAllister said. "Then 465 came in. Now Shadeland Avenue is a ghost highway. Why keep moving out and let the inner city die?"
Former Anderson Planning Director Dick Donnelley said he worries about the cost associated with the entire project, including research and public meetings.
"I'm worried about the resources being spent right now," Donnelley said. "We're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's about having alternatives for the future."
The meeting was nearing its conclusion when a group of young audience members complained they had not been heard.
"We're trying to help some friends of ours near Bloomington to save their land," said 21-year-old Frank White, a student at Indiana University.
The group hung a banner with the slogan "Resist Roads/Build Community" and distributed literature about Hoosiers harmed by interstate progress.